There's a witches' brew of conflict bubbling in the Manitowish River over dams, lake levels and sturgeon.  Rest Lake Dam, which controls water levels on the Manitowish Chain of Lakes, has created a tale of two solitudes: an upstream maintained for recreational boating and waterfront property and a downstream river relegated to flip-flopped flow patterns and extreme drought every summer.  

Since the 1930s, the dam has been managed to keep lake levels as high as possible in the Chain of Lakes during the summer season and then drained like a bathtub in the fall to protect piers and boathouses on the water from ice damage. As if that weren't serious enough, the timing of the raising and lowering of lake levels has put the downstream sturgeon population at risk of disappearing forever.  

The DNR knows changes are needed and has partnered with the US Geological Survey to collect data on the ecology and natural flow patterns of the Manitowish River both above and below the dam. Eight years of data is summarized in a draft environmental assessment (EA) which lays out problems corresponding changes needed to effectively balance protecting the public interest with recreational and personal interests on the Manitowish River. The next step is for DNR to issue a new operating and flow order for Rest Lake Dam.

Some property owners on the chain of lakes have been aggressive in pressuring DNR to leave well enough alone. Nonetheless the draft EA sends a strong message that business as usual is no longer an option. We commend the DNR for its thorough and honest analysis of the issue and urge them to follow through with a flow order that recognizes interests above and below the dam and meets their obligation to be trustees of the water.  

Public comment on the draft environmental assessment is invited until December 31, 2012 and you can find a copy of the EA and instructions on submitting comments here.  River Alliance will continue to keep you informed of progress and opportunities to let your voices be heard on this issue in the coming months.

Last year River Rat did some sleuthing around the area of concern, see what he had to say and watch a video of the dewatering of the river.    

Wisconsin and the CIty of Waukesha have become the testing ground for the Great Lakes Compact as Waukesha prepares to apply for a permit to access Great Lakes water to supply drinking water to the City and its surrounding service area (Waukesha straddles both the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins) under a provision that allows "straddling communities" to apply for a diversion outside the basin.

While the provision seems straightforward, a community must meet a number of requirements to get the diversion approved as well as return the water back to the Great Lakes basin. And this is where Waukesha's application will get close scrutiny, both by its neighboring communities and by the other Great Lakes states that must ultimately approve the diversion.   

The River Alliance will be paying particularly close attention to Waukesha's proposal to return the treated wastewater through nearby rivers - either Underwood Creek in Milwaukee or the Root River in Racine County. Adding 10 million gallons a day of treated wastewater to a river is not trivial, and the City will need to prove it will not cause water quality or quantity problems for the river or any downstream communities.