Lilly Lake Protection & Rehabilitation District

• April 27, 2019 meeting summary
• August 11, 2018 annual meeting summary
• District Newsletters
  
• Lake dredging history

April 27, 2019 meeting summary

Water Patrol
The system will be the same as last year: rotating group of officers working the patrols as spare-time jobs using the Town-provided boat and lift. Need a boat or lift cover. The boat cover would probably be cheaper. Residents had several questions and comments.

• Why is so much of their time wasted? E.g., they patrol during the week or early Sunday morning. They've missed some weekend days altogether. After they're gone, it's the wild west. Some of the infractions are by outsiders who drop in.
  Try to get the boat # and a picture / video of the infraction. They can then talk to the owner and/or be on the lookout for that boat. Remember that these officers also patrol other lakes.
  
• Are the patrol officers trained in water rules? E.g., do they know how far boats must be from piers and other boats? They seemed to be surprised by some of the things residents pointed out.
  They're certified. Write up your concerns to present to the head of the group.
  
•  How many citations did they hand out last year? There were 3 citations and enough warnings to get a $6500 reimbursement from the DNR for our water patrol.
  

Water Level
The water level is higher than it's been in years. It actually overflowed into the swamp after a recent rain. Is the Board thinking about a Slow-No-Wake (SNW) order to protect sea walls until evaporation brings the level down?

Glembocki will take a reading today to see what the level is and how it compares to previous readings. An SNW order now would be for property issues (protect sea walls) rather than safety (floating and submerged piers) as it was after the July 2017 floods.

What about the idea of pumping out the lake as suggested at the last meeting? With big diesel pumps going at 5000 gal/minute, you could take the lake down 2 ft in 6 days. There are about 25 million gallons in every foot of lake.

Will the DNR allow it? If not, it's a dead issue. Glembocki will call his DNR contact on Monday.

If the DNR is open to the idea, what is the right amount to take out? Take out too much, and during the usual dry spell in August, people will complain about the low level of the lake. There's no incoming water other than rain to fill the lake. What are the chances of getting agreement among the homeowners? Where will the water go? The swamp is at lake level. It can't absorb the removed water. The hunting grounds can. What happened to the ditch that used to drain the water? It got covered over during building projects. A ditch out to the wildlife area would be ideal because then the water could dribble out slowly.

Lilly Lake News
The spring 2019 issue of the Lilly Lake News is available. Many thanks to Mike Adam for his work in creating these informative newsletters.

Weed Treatment

Starry Stonewort is near Big Foot State Park and all over Door County. It's infested Big and Little Muskego Lakes and Wind Lake. It originally came from Europe through the St. Lawrence Seaway. The main mode of spreading it is via boats carrying it from lake to lake. Usually, if you let a weed dry out for 7 days, it won't come back to life. However, Starry Stonewort bulblets last longer. It's not clear how long they can survive in dry air.

Biologists are still experimenting with combinations of herbicides to knock it out. In deep water, they (so far) have not been able to eradicate it. They've had success in shallower channels. It grows very thick and very fast. It's hard to harvest. You can't keep up with it.

The Town greatly appreciates Kathy Aron sticking with us during all the changes in recent years.

Onterra Proposal To Create a Lake Management Plan

The DNR is pushing for whole-lake plans rather than spot treatment of weeds. Onterra LLC (recommended and located in Appleton) submitted a proposal for creating a lake and plant management plan.

• Overall, Lilly Lake looks pretty good in terms of water quality and lack of runoff.
• If Onterra writes the DNR grant application and we don't get the grant, we are not obligated to use them to implement the plan. If the DNR approves a partial grant, negotiate payment of time and travel from Appleton.
  
• Page 6 - Point-Intercept Survey: The DNR requires a certain number of survey points and makes it easy to get them from canned GPS maps located on their web site. For us, it would be 225 vs the 90 specified on P. 6. There should be a point intercept map for each primary species of plant.
• Evaluate what was done since the 2009 survey.

August 11, 2018 annual meeting summary

• A Lilly Lake resident plans to set up a temporary slalom ski course for a couple of hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays. It's just one person, the requester, who will use the course. He has the right to do that as part of the normal recreational use of the lake. He came to the Town Board to see if it would change the ordinance that calls for only counterclockwise movement on the lake. The Board said no.
  
  
• The course will be roughly 850 ft x 70 ft running east and west. Residents are concerned that the course will effectively use up the length of the lake. The skier goes fast and will probably dominate the lake. This is borderline commercial. On the other hand, the skier may find that the lake is just too small for an effective course.
  
  
• The skier has to observe all the rules that apply to normal boating on the lake, e.g., distances from shore and from other watercraft. Jason Roberts is the DNR recreation warden and can provide details on what is permissible.

Weed Control
DNR weed control policy has been an issue for the past few years, and it will continue to be contentious.

• The DNR doesn't approve milfoil treatment after midsummer unless it's a navigational issue. Bays are typically affected. The DNR is increasingly in favor of whole-lake treatment. If what you're doing now is controlling the milfoil, keep doing it. Otherwise go to whole-lake treatment, which is very expensive. Also, there's a transition year in going from spot to whole-lake treatment that is usually a mess.
  
  
• The usual guideline is to treat early and well. However, some years the milfoil comes up late, and it appears that the 2-4-d herbicide is not doing the job as effectively as in the past. Milfoil may be becoming resistant. We've been treating just the shallow zones. You have to weigh the cost / benefit of single treatment vs the expense of whole-lake treatment.
  
  
• Potter Lake in Walworth county, a 155-acre lake, did a whole-lake treatment with fantastic results. Fishing after treatment was great. They expect 3 to 4 years of good weed control.
  
  
• So where do we go from here?
  Survey - Our last whole-lake survey to map the milfoil was done in 2009. It's time to do it again. Grants for small-scale projects like surveys are easy to get. Grants for big projects are virtually impossible. That money usually goes up north.
  Build up cash reserves - We need to build up the cash we'll probably eventually need for a whole-lake treatment.
  Try different product - Do spot treatments with a different product, e.g., Sonar aquatic herbicide. 2-4-d does its job in about 7 days. It's not a seasonal kill. Sonar keeps a low level of herbicide going over time. The initial hit is about 4 parts per billion (ppb). The ongoing level is about 2 ppb. Lake conditions can affect milfoil density. You need to determine if high milfoil density is a one-time event or a trend.
  

Starry Stonewort
Wind Lake is infected, and it's not pretty. Luckily, the weed has not yet migrated to other lakes. However, it's expanding its range. On Wind Lake, it has gone from 50 to 75 acres and is getting into the channels.

Lake Levels, Quality
Lake level has been steady at 757.3 ft. The quality is good: the latest Secchi test was 14 ft. Phosphorus is at 14 ppb.

Fish Stocking
The fish stocking is complete.

Geese
This has been a low-goose year. There was only 1 roundup in this area. The foxes may be getting the geese.

Water Patrol
Only 2 citations have been issued so far this year. Last year there were 5 by this time. As part of a 3-lake partnership, we'll be getting reimbursed 60% for the patrol. The boat price is prorated.

Beach Improvement
The subcommittee for beach improvement will meet this fall.

Increase in Assessment
Residents approved an increase in the District assessment from 13 cents to 19 cents per $1000 of assessed value. We need to rebuild our treasury after multiple weed treatments in 2017 and the fish stocking. Also, we have to plan for the more expensive Sonar herbicide and a possible whole-lake treatment in the future.

Lake dredging history

• What was the problem?
• What was the proposed solution?
• Who was involved in the project?
• When and how was it done?
• What did it cost?
• What are the benefits?
• Dredging pictures
  

What was the problem?

What was the proposed solution?

Who was involved in the project?

Engineer Associates of Elkhorn tested feasibility, prepared initial plans, and got a permit from the Wisconsin DNR. In 1974, Jensen and Johnson of Elkhorn took over planning and preparation of environmental impact statements. Johnson and Averill of Waukesha completed the design and development of the whole project. Robers Dredge of LaCrosse did the dredging. Mann Brothers of Elkhorn constructed the disposal site.
Back to Lake dredging

When and how was it done?

A 12-inch cutterhead sucked out muck and weeds. Two miles of welded, 12-inch polyethylene pipe carried sludge to the gravel pits. A booster station around the Riley and Topczewski property helped pump muck up hill. Property owners were paid $0.15/ft per year for a pipeline easement. Some of the muck was also applied to 160 acres of farmers' fields. Farmers got $40/acre/year for the loss of use of their land. After project completion, they got the benefit of decayed organic matter on their fields. People report seeing fish coming out of the pipe at the gravel pit. The entire shoreline was cleaned and graded at completion of the project.

During the dredging, use of the lake was minimal. The shoreline stretched out 200 ft in places. You could do a little boating and swimming in the middle of the lake. One pocket (about 100 ft by 300 ft) on the north shore had to be left because the water level was too low to work it. It was only in 1980 that the lake filled back out to its present size.
Back to Lake dredging

What did it cost?

What are the benefits?

• Lilly Lake is consistently the cleanest lake in Kenosha County.
• All sorts of water recreation are now possible, including ice fishing and water skiing (which were virtually impossible before the dredging).
• Property values have increased substantially.
• Local businesses (like the current Lily Lake Resort) can capitalize on the recreation the lake offers.

New muck is accumulating at the rate of about 1/4 inch per year. At that rate, it will be about 200 years before Lilly Lake has to consider another dredging project.

Dredging pictures

Many thanks to Kathie Cashman for these pictures of the dredging operation.

Dredging rig	Lake view 1
Lake view 2	Dredging site in winter

Former resident KC provided the following pictures of the dredging operation taken in 1979 from the properties at 7717 and 7723 334th Ave.:

• Views 1, 3, and 5
• Views 6 and 7
• View 8
• Views 9, 10, and 12
• Views 11 and 15
• Views 13, 14, and 16
• Views 17 and 18
  

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