Updated April 2016
In the years just after the dam was built, around 1850 creating Lake Marinuka, the lake was about twice the size it is now. It extended up the draw behind the middle school to what is now US Highway 53. Erosion caused it to fill in, so in the 1920s the lake was dredged and a new golf course was created moving the course from what is now fairgrounds real estate. The club house (now Arctic Springs Supper Club) and a maintenance shed were built, the foundation of the shed still remaining in the woods below the picnic area. The sporty nine hole course served the community well until around 1970 when the settling dredged
material on the course caused rain water drainage problems. After a rain event, much of the course would be covered with water making golfing difficult if not impossible for days or weeks afterward.
Again over the years erosion caused the lake to fill in and several acres of marshland and wasteland were created between the golf course and the north end of the lake.
In the late 1960s the lake was drained and the fish were poisoned from Ettrick downstream in an effort to rid Beaver Creek and Lake Marinuka of carp. The bottom feeding carp had made the water very muddy and the carp had been very hard on the spawning efforts of desirable fish. It was reported that the day after the carp were removed, the water was so much clearer young people recovered bushel baskets full of golf balls from the stream bed because they could see them. In the mid to late 1970s the north half of the lake was shallow (only about 3 to 4 feet of water) very clear lake water with bass thriving, living in among the lake vegetation that also thrived. The bass fishing was unbelievably terrific for a few years under those conditions. It was apparent that in just a few years the whole north end of the lake would become nothing but marsh if something was not done to correct it.
Several meetings were held with a “grass roots” effort supporting a dredging project. After a lot of research was done, it was decided that the concept of a Lake District was the only way the project could be accomplished.
A Lake District is created by County Board action reacting to a petition signed by a majority of tax payers within the District. It exists under Public Law 33 which governs most aspects of its existence. The District has taxing authority. The law calls for a board of 5 commissioners (one selected by the County Board) one member selected by the governing body (town of Gale Board) of the largest municipality within the district and 3 members elected by the electorate at an annual meeting for a three year staggered term. Current members are James Spencer (appointed by the county board) Sharon Spahr (Town of Gale Board appointed) and elected members, Byron Anderson (president) Thomsa Goller (treasurer) and Raymond G Anderson (secretary).
The Lake Marinuka Protection and Rehabilitation District was created in 1974 with the boundaries being the City of Galesville and the entire Township of Gale. Signatures were gathered by members of the Volunteer Trout Club, the Fire Department and the Lions Club. The original board was Norman Thompson (county) William Thomas (Town of Gale) Norman Schein (President) Carlyle Cory (Treasurer) and Ray G Anderson (Secretary). Four of the original members are now deceased with Ray Anderson still acting as Secretary. Three other friends of the Lake District donated many hours, Don Lanik (teacher now retired), the late Wm Spencer, and Chuck Forster, the district’s treasured tor many years. Don and William supplied much needed scientific readings regularly to the DNR over a period of years.
Between 1974 and 1982 countless meetings took place to pursue details of financing, engineering, spoil site decisions and dike preparation.
In 1982 the lake was dredged. Total spent was about $1.25 million dollars:
| Engineering & Consulting | $70,000 |
| Containment Dike Construction | $117,000 |
| Upstream Conservation Practices | $385,000 |
| Dredging (585,000 cu yds) | $678,000 |
| TOTAL | $1,250,000 |
These dollars came from:
| Federal Grant | $600,000 |
| State Grant | $215,000 |
| Borrowed (Bond Issue) | $300,000 |
| Interest Income (Rates Higher Then) | $52,000 |
| Farmers (Conservation Cost Sharing) | $37,000 |
| Tax Dollars Raised | $46,000 |
| TOTAL | $1,250,000 |
The locally preferred spoil site was the marsh between 2nd street and 8th street behind the old canning factor property, but the DNR refused to allow that because they claimed it was marshland that they considered too valuable to be lost. As the golf course problems persisted and with new courses at Ettrick and Holmen the golfers abandoned the course making the sight available. The land is owned by the City of Galesville. It was decided to use that site with material for the dike coming from the current middle school site and its ball diamonds and playgrounds. Schams Construction of Barre Mills was the low bidder on the dike, built to a head of about 5 feet to receive the dredge sludge. The area is currently used as cropland.
In order to receive grants, the “Feds” and State required upstream conservation practices be accomplished. With the assistance of the County Soil Conservation office and with cooperating farmers paying part of the costs, a lot of work was done attempting to prevent future siltation. Ron Kugal of the County Soil Conservation Service was very helpful in accomplishing these projects.
The dredge contract was awarded to low bidder, Iowa Dredging. The bid was less than originally budgeted so more cubic yards were added. The lake was dredged to a 6 to 7 foot depth in the north half of the lake to about l 0 feet in the south half with 4 feet plus taken from the entire lake.
Many hours went into obtaining the Federal and State grants is doubtful if any such grants could be obtained today because of budget restraints and because there are countless waters competing for the few dollars available, Norm Schein was invaluable in the grant pursuit with his leadership and knowledge. The $300,000 raised by borrowing was repaid over ten years. Several agreements were made and honored as part of the compromises made to obtain local financial support. A referendum to borrow was held and it carried by about a 2 to 1 margin. A pledge or agreement by the Lake District was that total tax levies would not exceed $40,000.This amounts to about $50 annually per $100,000 assessed value. The Town of Gale tax levy would not exceed $20,000 annually. It was also agreed that City of Galesville taxpayers would match dollar for dollar any amounts levied to the: Town of Gale. Since by law, the District must levy tax based on equalized values, the City of Galesville’s tax levy has been about 75% of the Townships. The City agreed to make a grant to the Lake District to make up the difference. The City has always honored their part of this agreement. The $300,000 was repaid in about ten years.
During the eight years, 1974 to 1982, an unbelievable effort was spent analyzing lake vegetation, fish health considerations, sediment chemical and soil type analysis, spoil sight, archeological sight clearance (historical treasures could not be buried). An interesting question that needed answering- would the spoil site hold the ‘Weight of all that material or would it all scarf right back into Beaver Creek.
The upstream conservation practices were well done and have slowed, but not completely stopped erosion. The Beaver Creek now normally runs clean, cool, and clear. It is a good trout stream. Only after significant rain events it turns brown and murky. Not all efforts were successful as in a few cases the course of the stream has changed, leaving half buried rock piles that were once expensive rip rap projects, silent reminders that it does not always pay to fool with Mother Nature.
As projected, the mouth of the creek at the north end of the lake developed an underwater waterfall as the shallow creek met a sudden 6 foot depth. To find its own level, the result was a scouring of the creek and much sediment was finding its way to the lake. A touch up dredging was completed in 1999. $300,000 was borrowed and the loan repaid in 2009. The original 1982 spoil site was still able to accept the material. An attempt was made to aim the stream currents to the center of the lake, prolonging the shorelines from filling in especially on the north ease side of the lake. Eventually an island formed near the mouth and it has unfortunately directed the currents eastward. The point here is that in the near future it will be necessary to perform some sort of a dredging project again. Most of the north end of the lake is losing depth at an alarming rate.
It may be considered prudent to begin to explore various alternatives. The Feasibility Study for the 1982 dredging officially began in 1975, these things take time. Questions to be answered are primarily how to remove the material (dredging; lower lake and haul away, a backhoe on a barge) where to put the material and how to pay for it all. It is certain that the old timers on the board will assist but new enthusiastic blood is essential to assist in carrying the next project to completion.
About every 5 years the DNR and/or the U.S. Corps of Engineers does a study on the lake considering water and sediment chemistry, fish population and their overall health and other aspects that may need attention. The Board receives reports on these studies and basically the health of the lake and the fish are good. Except for the problems we have discussed here we can be optimistic about the lake’s future; but we must continue to be vigilant in caring for it.
In July 1998 the District purchased about 4 acres of land adjacent to Little Mun creek gaining access to the creek and the Lake so any sediment removed from the water can be piled, allowing it to dry before it is hauled away. Little Mun Creek was dug out in about 1992, and in 2006 and again in 2014 intercepting sediment before it enters the lake and allowing water access to six homes on the west shore of the stream. DNR insists the sediment be removed since the land is in the flood plain. Sediment removed in 2007 was used for landscaping the then new GET Middle School playground and GET varsity baseball and softball fields.
Published in the Galesville Republican September 2005
Many rumors have been circulating recently about Lake Marinuka, some true, others are not. As a member of the Lake District Board for 30 years, and as I have lived adjacent to the lake for over 60 years, I feel qualified to comment on some of these.
So we have a common starting point, first, a brief history of the lake. Just after the dam was about 1860, the lake covered an area extending north to nearly highway 53, just below Brookes Implement. The lake was dredged in the l920’s creating the Golf Course. In the early 1960’s, the lake was drained, carp removed and all were removed or poisoned to eliminate the carp problem. A few days after the carp were gone, the water was so much clearer that golf balls could be seen in Beaver Creek and the young people gathered them by the bushel basket. More on carp later…
In the late 1960’s, a group of concerned people attempting to accomplish a dredging project, met to pursue it It was learned that in order to obtain grants to finance it, a Lake District was essential. The City Council supported this concept. The Town of Gale board supported it on one condition. .. that is its’ boundaries would consist of the entire Township of Gale (not just that part of the township that was in the water-shed as was proposed.) So it was. The volunteer trout club members, Lions club members and Firefighters organized to obtain over 50% of voter’s signatures needed to present to the County Board to create the district under Public Law 33. During about 10 years since the first meetings and the dredging of 1982, many hours were spent by many people obtaining permits, financing, flood plain easements, archeological study, engineering and many countless details that were involved. Part of the process was a comprehensive (3/4″ thick of pages of study results) analysis of sediment, weeds, and water chemistry. Based on experience in other lakes, Lake Henry in Blair for example, we were told that after dredging, the Beaver Creek, about 2 feet deep, al! of a sudden goes to 6 or more feet deep creating in effect, an underwater waterfall. This would cause scouring of the creek bottom as the two differences in depth approached a common level. This occurred as expected, making a “touch up dredge” necessary. This took place in l 997. The l 982 million dollar plus project was financed with a $500,000 Federal Grant, $200,000 State Grant and $300,000 by the Lake District . The money was spent with $300,000 spent on upstream erosion control projects, $!00,000 was spent to build a dike on the old golf course site and about $50,000 in engineering and study costs and the remainder on dredging. Norm Schein, who has been the Lake District’s president since its inception over 30 years ago, was instrumental in obtaining the grants. He is an ex-DNR employee and knows the people who are in a position to help us. His knowledge of lake management has been of great value over the years.
The 1997 project was financed by the Lake District as no grants were available. Here again, both prior to 1982 and again in l 997, the citizens of the district were concerned enough to overwhelmingly approve the referendum needed to obtain bonding to cover the Lake District’s dredging costs. The early agreements were that the City and the Township would fund the District equally and that the Districts total annual budget would not cost the taxpayers of the District over $40,00 annually ($20,000 township and $20,000 city) The agreement still stands and has been honored. The debt on the l 997 dredging project will be repaid in full in April, 2009. Annual debt payments average around $32,000.
As with all man made lakes draining agriculture land, there is a never ending problem with erosion of soil, nutrients, chemicals (including salt from road maintenance and detergents and who knows what.) For over 30 years, the chemistry and water clarity of the lake has been monitored closely. In recent years, Galesville’s sixth grade teacher, Don Lanik, has had his class take samples monitoring dissolved oxygen, pH, nitrates, water temperature and the clarity of the water. For many years Bill Spencer has volunteered his time taking Secchi disc readings, measuring water clarity, especially after significant rains. They have reported their findings to the DNR regularly.
Fish populations are good. The DNR is constantly monitoring this and reports it’s finding to the Lake District in detail about once every five years. The latest report shows exact counts turned up by shocking-in summary, good. l personally have caught from my backyard shore this summer, countless bluegills, bass and crappies. ln recent years, I have caught some (not many) walleye, northern, perch and bullheads. I know of trout and small mouth bass being taken in Beaver Creek between its’ mouth and highway 53. l know of a 14 inch crappie being caught this summer. (That is a big one.)
The problem with fisheries is that there are too many bluegills and crappies, making for too many too small. In fact the DNR removed thousands of crappies about three years ago and replanted them in other lakes. The other fisheries problem is the presence of carp. The carp churn up the mud causing damage to the spawning grounds and efforts of other fish.
The other problem with carp is that they constantly bottom feed, churning the sediment causing murky water, not allowing light to penetrate and thus destroying or at least discouraging the growth of plants that support the food chain and ultimately fish. Several efforts have been made to seine out the carp, once through the ice, once in the summer, both with very disappointing results. No one really know why. So if the rumor is out that no fish were caught, maybe that is where that got started.
There are five areas of concern of “run off” into the lake. The first and never ending is Beaver Creek itself. Certainly better conservation practices have improved this problem, but it never will end. Keep in mind that many thousands of acres drain into Lake Marinuka. This includes all land uses and that fact should be kept in mind. All we can do is our best to try and control it. The second is the north east comer draining the area by the TV tower to the cemetery and east from there. The City of Galesville has been very cooperative in trying to control it. A small delta is forming but there is no way to get rid of it without dredging, as access to it is a problem. The third is salt coming into the south end of the lake from street maintenance. What can be done? Any practical solutions would be considered. The fourth concern is “Little Mun” Creek. We are currently seeking a permit to dig that out and haul it away. A relatively easy inexpensive fix. Upstream erosion control efforts are ongoing. A fifth concern is on the Lake Road (4th Street) by the first bay in the Town of Gale going north. There has been an extensive effort to correct that problem which has been ongoing for nearly two years. There is a ditch eroded that was started when a TV cable was buried causing ground which had been stable to begin to erode. This is on land plotted as a Town of Gale road, and never developed, but owned by the Town of Gale. Everyone thought the problem stemmed from “raw ground” from construction projects on higher ground, so the root of the problem was not caught in time. The delays in correcting the problem have come from the engineering standpoint. The landowners, the Town of Gale and the USDA Soil Conservation Service have been cooperating in developing a plan to correct this problem and at this writing, it is reported corrective construction will take place this fall. We all wish that the process could move faster. A recent letter to the editor of the Galesville Republican implied that manure is running into the lake, killing fish . This just isn’t true. The design of manure pits in Wisconsin must be approved by the DNR and the Soil Conservation Service. None of the pits in the Marinuka Watershed have ever overflowed, and there are several pits upstream from Lake Marinuka.
In discussing the lake’s quality, all these things considered, with the DNR officials, the US Army Corps of Engineers and the Lake District Board, it was determined that a very thorough study of the lake’s quality (it has been about 25 years since one was done) was in order. A DNR grant was received for this purpose, and with about $5,000 Lake District expense plus some “in kind” volunteer labor, the study is going on, being done by the US Army Corps of Engineers personnel.
Yes, we do care about our lake. We all do.