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YLAG2 Draft Recommendations - Comments

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  1. Retain current water level orders until an observational network and modeling indicates a need for change in order to better balance public and private interests.
  2. Clarify implementation of Lake Mendota level orders when summer maximum are exceeded during high flows. (DNR)
  3. Coordinate lake levels in the Yahara River system and particularly Lake Mendota to remain high enough (summer minimum - 849.6) from March 15 to mid-May to allow fish to spawn, young fry to grow to sufficient size to survive once water levels are lowered as determined by Dane County and DNR Fisheries.
  4. Strive to operate Lake Kegonsa’s water level at the midpoint of the summer range from June 1 through September 1.
  5. Evaluate the winter minimum water levels orders on all the Yahara System to meet the public interests. – eg. fish and wildlife habitat.
  6. Centrally coordinate the operation of all permitted dams on the Yahara System to maximize efficiency in the system.
  7. Do not deliberately operate the lakes below current minimums as a means to provide flood storage.
  8. Develop operating orders to address operation of the Stoughton Dam in the event of a high water emergency based on modeling analysis.
  9. Explore water level orders that recognize that Lakes Monona and Waubesa act as one lake.
  10. Retain the existing lake level orders for the Yahara System.
  11. Manage Lake Mendota close to its summer minimum of 849.6 feet MSL instead of the near the summer maximum of 850.1 msl in order to provide more storage for major runoff events.
  12. Establish target "median" levels for the lakes.
  13. DNR should establish winter maximum lake levels.
Comments are listed in chronological order (Oldest to Newest):
Comment Text
They've worked for years. Work on the source of level changes upstream that have obviously caused the present problems.
Very Strongly Disagree!! Current lake level orders sanction the continued destruction of wetlands in the Yahara chain. These losses have been well documented.
No matter what levels the lakes are at, someone is going to be unhappy, so leave things as they are. At least everyone has learned to live with the current situation (in my case for 40 years). In my specific case, if the level drops below summer maximum, I can't get my boat off the hoist without difficulty (and it is only a small 17ft. I/O). My neighbor and I share a pier that is about 125 ft. long. He has a Master Craft inboard ski boat, and the lake level is mostly too low for him to get the boat off the hoist at all. Finally, the Mendota County Park boat ramp is frequently hard to use except for smaller fishing boats. Modest size I/Os are really hard to work with, and at least a half dozen occasions each year someone has to get a second vehicle to get their trailer out of the water. Bill Howard
Amen!!! Enough said.
It is unfortunate that YLAG2 did not adequately address flooding, in recommendations or in discussion. Lake levels should be lowered soon, before very serious flooding occurs.
I've lived on the northeast corner of Lake Monona for the last three years and have observed that the water level has declined significantly since we first moved in. Many residents of the Lake tell me it has never been lower. This has resulted in insufficient water level to operate boats safely and effectively. I would encourage that the lakes be returned to a more 'normal' level.
NO! The maximum and minimum water levels are too drastically different and cause damage to shorelines that are not artificially rip-rapped. You are turning a once natural lake shore habitat into one that looks artificial and man-made with all the rip-rap needed to manage the damage done by the high fluctuations in the water levels.
I agree. Please do not change Lake Waubesa's levels.
please continue to keep levels at summer target level or a little higher as the level in front of my house is low and i can have trouble getting my boat on and off my lift.
I am firmly against lowering the level of Lake Mendota for many reasons. The two most prominent ones are: 1. The problem hasn’t been what the benchmark minimum for Mendota has been set at. The problem has been that Mendota’s level has not been operated at that benchmark for much of the recent past. Currently, we are about at the Mendota summer minimum. Most, if not all of us would consider the lake too LOW not too high at this level. We just haven’t been at this level very much the last several years so no one remembers what it truly is like. Now imagine taking 3, 6, or 12 inches away from that summer minimum… 2. Lowering Mendota is a band-aid approach that treats a symptom while ignoring the cause. The cause of elevated lake levels is inflow (runoff) and outflow. Efforts should be directed at reducing runoff into the watershed and on increasing outflow (especially in the Waubesa to Kegonsa section). I believe that Mendota landowners and lake users should not be punished with lower lake levels because of a failure to focus on the real causes of the problem. Regards, MWM
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