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Lake Restoration Report

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Lake Restoration Report Lake Restoration Program 2019 Report and 2020 Plan Watershed Improvement: Over 200 watershed practices, like the bio-retention cells pictured here were installed around Easter Lake to capture storm water and improve water quality In-Lake Work: Numerous practices were installed including dredging 678,000 cubic yards of excess sediment from the lake After: Easter Lake Grand Re-Opening Celebration June 2019 Submitted To Joint Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Infrastructure, and Capitals and Legislative Services Agency Executive Summary The 2019 Iowa Lake Restoration Report and 2020 Plan outlines the need and demand for lake restoration in Iowa; identifies a prioritized group of lakes and the associated costs for restoration; and provides the status of past appropriated legislatively directed funding. Iowans value water quality and desire safe healthy lakes that provide a full complement of aesthetic, ecological and recreational benefits. A recently completed water-based recreational use survey by Iowa State University found that six of 10 Iowans visit our lakes multiple times each year and spend $1.2 billion annually in their pursuit of outdoor lake recreation. The most popular activities are fishing, picnicking, wildlife viewing, boating, hiking/biking, swimming and beach use. In addition, visitations at lakes that have completed watershed and lake improvements efforts continue to exceed the state average and their own pre-restoration visitation levels. People are also willing to drive farther for lakes with better water quality and more amenities. Legislative Action Goals of Iowa’s Lake Restoration Program include: improved water quality, a diverse, balanced aquatic community, and sustained public use benefits. Many of our Iowa Lakes, similar to our nation’s lakes, are impaired and suffer from excessive algae growth and sedimentation due to nutrient loading and soil loss. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Lake Restoration Program (LRP) focus is on restoring Iowa’s significant publicly-owned lakes and publicly-owned shallow lakes/wetlands. This report provides our plan to restore our Iowa public lakes, which will lead to increased lake use and improved lake water quality. Public lakes are a major component of recreational facilities of the State of Iowa, and in addition to better water quality, LRP projects many times involve major repair/re-placement and protection of lake related infrastructure. In the 81st General Assembly, with HF 2782, the legislature responded to our need for improving Iowa’s lakes by creating the Lake Restoration Plan and Report, known as the Lake Restoration Program. Included in HF2782, Section (26) of The Endowment for Iowa’s Health Account is a process and criteria for completing successful lake restoration projects. It directs the DNR to report annually its plans and recommendations for lake restoration funding, as well as progress and results from projects funded by this legislation. This report has been prepared in accordance with these requirements. In addition, it describes some of the important work done by local, state and federal partners. These partnerships, along with sound scientific information, are the foundation of current and future successful lake restoration projects. Funding for the Lake Restoration Program (LRP) is currently appropriated on an annual basis. We anticipate that at the current annual level of $9.6 million per year the DNR can stay on schedule with implementing restoration efforts at the significant publicly-owned lakes and publicly-owned shallow lakes/wetlands currently prioritized in the ten-year plan. Lake Restoration Program The DNR modeled the Lake Restoration Program after the Federal Clean Lakes Program established in the 1970’s. For the purpose of Iowa’s Lake Restoration Program, Iowa code defines “significant, publicly-owned lakes” as those lakes that meet all of the following criteria: • is owned by the federal government, the state of Iowa, a county, or a municipal government, and is maintained principally for public use; • is a multi-use system capable of supporting diverse wildlife, fish, or recreational opportunities; • has a surface water area of at least ten acres; • does not have a watershed-to-lake surface area ratio of greater than two hundred to one; • is not an on-stream impoundment that emulates riverine habitat rather than a lake environment; • and, is not used solely as a water supply reservoir. i For the purpose of Iowa’s Lake Restoration Program, Iowa code defines “publicly-owned shallow lakes/wetlands” as those water bodies that meet the following criteria: • is owned by the federal government, the state of Iowa, a county, or a municipal government, and is maintained principally for public use; • is a multi-use system capable of supporting diverse wildlife, fish, or recreational opportunities; • has a surface water area of at least ten acres; • does not have a watershed-to-lake surface area ratio of greater than two hundred to one; • is an open freshwater system where maximum depth is typically less than six to eight feet at its deepest spot and is under four and one-half feet mean depth; • and, is typically fringed by a border of emergent vegetation in water depth less than six feet and when clear is dominated by both emergent and submergent vegetation and provides important wildlife and fish habitat. The goal is to invest money on projects with multiple benefits such as improved water quality and increased public use, while taking into account feasibility of restoration. Science based prioritization has been our most effective tool in targeting projects of value to the state. Potential projects are viewed in terms of their potential for meeting program goals. This assessment incorporates information on the public benefit of an individual lake, feasibility of restoration (can we be successful?), and the current status of the water quality. In addition, project development and implementation relies on the ability of the department being able to work cooperatively with stakeholders and representatives of each community to develop a joint lake restoration action plan. Lake Restoration Program - Project Goals The department recommends funding for lake restoration projects that are designed to achieve the following goals: • Ensure a cost effective, positive return on investment for the citizens of Iowa. • Ensure local community commitment to lake and watershed protection. • Ensure significant improvement in water clarity, safety, and quality of Iowa lakes. • Provide for a sustainable, healthy, functioning lake system. • Result in the removal of the lake from the impaired waters list. Translating program goals to measures of success: • Clarity - Improve clarity to achieve goals outlined in the restoration plan. • Safety - Beaches that meet water quality standards for recreational use. • Quality - Removal of the lake from the impaired waters list. • Quality - Meet goals as defined in the restoration plan, which may include maintenance improvements to lakes. • Biota - Maintain a diverse, balanced, and sustainable aquatic community. • Sustainability - Maximize design life of tools implemented for restoration. • Achieve a positive return on investment/public benefit. • Develop local partnerships. Lake Restoration Program - Process and Criteria The process and criteria to recommend funding for lake restoration projects are: • The department, with input from stakeholders, maintains a list of not more than thirty-five significant publicly owned lakes and not more than five publicly-owned shallow lake/wetlands prioritized for funding based on the feasibility of each lake (water body) for restoration and the use or potential use of the lake, if restored. The department recommends these lake projects as a priority for funding so long as progress toward completion of the projects remained consistent with the goals of the program. • The department meets with stakeholders and representatives of communities where prioritized lakes are located to provide an initial lake restoration assessment and to explain the process and criteria for receiving lake restoration funding. • Communities with lakes not included on the current list may petition the Director of the department for a preliminary assessment of the lake for inclusion in the program (i.e. does the lake meet the program definition of significant, publicly-owned lake or publicly-owned shallow lake/wetland and does it rank well relative to other lakes in terms of potential for meeting program goals) and an explanation of the funding process and criteria. ii • Projects need to follow the directives to the department regarding Project Goals, Process and Criteria, and Restoration Plan Guidelines from 2006 State Legislation (81st GA, HF2782) and 2016 State Legislation (86th GA, SF2324). Lake Restoration Program - Water Quality Improvement Plan Guidelines The department works with stakeholders and communities to develop a joint lake restoration action plan. • At a minimum, each joint action plan documents the causes, sources, and magnitude of lake impairment, evaluates the feasibility of the lake and watershed restoration options, establishes water quality and fishery and wildlife goals and a schedule for attainment, describes long-term management actions, assesses the economic benefits of the project, identifies the sources and amounts of any leveraged funds, and describes the community's commitment to the project, including local funding. • The stakeholders’ and community's commitment
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