Walking Tour of Lake George Water Quality History Next Week

(KNSI) – St. Cloud will showcase a water treatment projected that will get Lake George off the impaired waters list next week. Lake George was put on the impaired waters list in 2012 and, thanks to a pair of stormwater projects, the lake should be removed from the impaired waters list in 2022.

“All the data from the last couple of years is indicating that we are meeting all the water quality standards of the state. And the state in its terms called it a slam dunk to get the lake removed from the state’s impaired waters list,” said St. Cloud Stormwater Compliance Specialist Noah Czech.

A walking tour of Lake George’s water quality history is Wednesday from 6 to 7:30 p.m. The event is $15 and includes dinner. And our goal is, as we’ve seen significant improvements in the water quality of Lake George. The public will walk around the lake, get a firsthand look at the underground stormwater treatment system, and get some maintenance equipment out here to show how the system is cleaned. And then talk about what St. Cloud is doing in the lake as far as water monitoring.

In 2018, St. Cloud spent about $200,000 to improve the stormwater retention pond (Swan pond) on the southeast corner of the lake. Earlier this year, an underground filtration system was put in place for $770,000. St. Cloud received $700,000 of the money from the Minnesota Clean Water Legacy Fund. Czech says the projects were needed to protect the lake and keep the city’s most important park in good condition.

“It’s really the centerpiece of the city. That’s where all of our area events happen. A lot of folks use the walking trails and see the lake every day. So, aesthetically, we’re wanting the lake to, of course, be pleasing. We want folks to have some recreational fishing opportunities, too.”

According to the City of St Cloud, the stormwater system will keep nearly 30-pounds of phosphorus and 23,000 pounds of sediment from entering the lake each year. Czech described some of the improvements to the lake.

“We do not see those large algae blooms in the lake. We do not see that green slime. We do not see that super cloudy, unclear water while we’re able to see usually about eight to 10 feet down in the lake now where previously maybe it was only three to four feet down in the lake. Previously we had some minor odor issues coming from the lake, too.”

Water quality issues have been a concern on Lake George since 1910, when the St. Cloud Ice Company stopped harvesting lake ice because of contaminants. When the lake flooded, the water would follow the high bank ravine through the north end of St. Cloud State University and into the Mississippi River. Czech says the lake was altered in the 1920s.

“As the lake used to be more of like a wetland, it was about 50 acres in size and covered parts of downtown St. Cloud by the cathedral. And in about 1921, the lake became shallow due to development in St. Cloud. So the city began dredging the lake.”

The dredging project was completed in 1927. Lake George shrunk from a 50-acre wetland about five feet deep to the 10-acre lake with a depth of 35 feet that we see today. The area around the lake was filled in and developed. Czech says the recent stormwater projects are the most significant work on the lake since the 1920s dredging project.

For more information or to register for the event, click here.

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