Des Moines Register
12-14-06
Polk supervisors fund upgrades to Easter Lake
By JASON PULLIAM
Efforts to jump-start planned upgrades for Easter Lake Park got a $500,000
infusion from the Polk County Board of Supervisors last week.
The board approved the money for more than a dozen improvement projects for
the popular park, which has become one of the busiest in the county.
The new dollars will allow work on the 2003 Easter Lake Park master plan to
move forward, said Polk County Conservation Director Pat Boddy.
"All too often (master plans) sit on shelves and collect dust. This one will not,"
she said. "We're very enthusiastic."
The appropriations include $37,000 for an Easter Lake restoration study and dam
inspection. The study's total price tag will be roughly $85,000, paid for by state
and local dollars.
The silt-packed lake was placed on the state's "impaired" waters list in 1998. The
lake is one-quarter to one-third filled with silt, according to Iowa Department of
Natural Resources estimates.
The county money will allow quicker work on the rehabilitation plan, said Mike
McGhee, the state's lake projects coordinator.
"Strong local support is critical to moving a project like this forward," he said.
Preliminary work on the study is already under way, McGhee said. He hopes to
have the full report completed by the end of 2007.
The full slate of restoration projects - likely to include some dredging - will
probably take several years and several million dollars to complete, he said.
Easter Lake is one of about 20 lakes throughout the state the DNR has prioritized
for restoration.
The study will be a partnership between the DNR, Polk County Conservation,
Iowa State University and local volunteers.
Finding a way to clean up the lake's sediment pollution has been a widely
discussed topic among residents and Ward 4 City Council hopefuls at recent
neighborhood meetings.
Roughly 40 percent of Easter Lake's watershed rested within developed ground
when the lake opened in 1969. About 70 percent of the watershed is now
urbanized, according to Easter Lake's 2003 master plan.
Construction-related runoff in the rapidly developing area has played a big role in
the lake's silt woes, a DNR report states.
The Easter Lake area is the fastest growing part of Des Moines. Improving the
lake's water quality also could bring economic benefits.
Recent research from Iowa State University shows clean lakes bode well for local
economies.
Rehabilitating Easter Lake and its watershed fits well with other revitalization
efforts in the area, such as those for Southeast 14th Street and Army Post Road,
McGhee added.
"Tying all of this together could be grand," he said.
Reporter Jason Pulliam can be reached at (515) 284-8214 or
jpulliam@dmreg.com