WOWT wrote:Neighbors say Carter Lake is drying up, jeopardizing investments area property owners have made, and they say it's time to fix the problem. Years of drought have contributed to the lake's low water level.
KETV wrote:In the early '90s, the preservation team tried to solve the problem by installing a pump in the Missouri River to fill Carter Lake, but now, the river is low, too, so the pump isn't working. Now, the preservation society is getting everyone involved on both sides of the lake and the river to come up with a solution...
The society's goal, which Ritchie admitted is on the optimistic side, is to fill the lake by 2008 when Omaha plays host to the NCAA swimming trials. The costs haven't been totaled yet, but it is hoped that donations and grants will pay for it.
The [Pottawattamie County] oard [of supervisors] on Wednesday approved spending $163,000 in county gaming revenue to help the city pursue four improvement projects on the Iowa side of the lake this year. More than 80 percent of the lake is in Nebraska, the rest in Iowa.
"Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved."
Carter Lake improvement funds OK'd
A series of projects to improve Carter Lake received a boost Wednesday when the Pottawattamie County Board voted to contribute $163,000. "We don't want this oxbow lake disappearing, and that's what will happen if we don't act," said Russ Kramer, mayor of the city of Carter Lake, who brought the request before the board. "We want to get this lake back to its former beauty."
Oh, the people of Carter Lake would just bring in the experienced, high-powered housewives of Ashland to fight this legal battle for them. Omaha couldn't possibly win.
I thought it was bad but not this bad. It has been about 3 years since I was in it last
"The average depth of the lake right now is about 3 feet," Kramer said. "We would like to get that to 7 feet by 2008 and maybe even 10 to 15 feet in the long run."
Consultants favor filling the lake with pumped well water... which is proposed to start next year with the lake being restored to normal levels by 2008... after which focus is to center of water quality.
First, when I saw the subject of this topic it was right after the thing about the Nebraska quote on CBS morning show. So my first thought was "Why the heck could Carter Lake be a question on Jeopardy?" lol
Second, I second everyone who said something negative about getting in that water. Ewwwww. I'm always amazed when I hear how much $$$ houses around that lake sell for.
Second, I second everyone who said something negative about getting in that water. Ewwwww. I'm always amazed when I hear how much $$$ houses around that lake sell for.
When we used to go skiing/tubing... we spent very little time actually IN the water. I've always been leery of the water in small lakes. That said, it's scenic and recreational boating is alot of fun.
Brad wrote:I never saw what it was all going to cost. However farmers drill wells allthe time so it couldn't be that much.
Drilling a well for some drinking water and drilling a well for pumping major quantities of water into a lake are two different animals, as the major cost will shift from the drilling to the pump equipment. We're probably talking pumps that are going to cost more than a half million (possibly several times that) to move the quantity of water they need.
"Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved."
Brad wrote:I never saw what it was all going to cost. However farmers drill wells allthe time so it couldn't be that much.
Drilling a well for some drinking water and drilling a well for pumping major quantities of water into a lake are two different animals, as the major cost will shift from the drilling to the pump equipment. We're probably talking pumps that are going to cost more than a half million (possibly several times that) to move the quantity of water they need.
I was thinking more of Irrigation, not drinking. Also, I guess I was think compaired to the property values along the lake a $1/2 million to fill a lake, is not a lot when part of the lake is surrounded by $1/4 million homes and have boat docks that are high and dry.
The consulting service that performed the lake recharge study on Carter Lake has been terminated by the Carter Lake City Council.
The council voted 3-0 at its last meeting to terminate its contract with Jacobsen Helgoth, the company that performed the $27,000 lake recharge study and was working on the city's storm water projects, at the last city council meeting on July 31.
Carter Lake Mayor Russ Kramer said there were a number of reasons the council voted to terminate the contract.
"There was a question of what didn't get resolved in study," he said, "And we don't want to pay money for something that didn't get done."
I'm not sure what they were expecting for a $27,000 study, but the answer they got is pretty consistent with what they paid (or will be paying, I should say), I think.
"Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved."
So the group got together and formed the Carter Lake Preservation Society, an organization dedicated to improving the water quality and restoring the lake. They even have a slogan: Fill the Lake by 2008.
Not only does the catchphrase rhyme, it is also the year the summer Olympic trials will be held in Omaha. Eibes wants Carter Lake to be seen as the gateway to the metropolitan area by the athletes flying in from all over the country.
"We really want to show this is a destination in downtown Omaha," she said.
"Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved."
I didn't see anything about addressing the water levels?
The main problem with the 325-acre lake is, it isn't meeting the standards set by the states of Iowa and Nebraska because of the excessive phosphorus levels that lead to blue-green algae.
Phosphorus = one of the main ingredients in lawn fertilizer! Â When you buy fertilizer and it says in big letters 25-8-12 or some other combination of numbers they represent Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium. Â Lets see you have big houses and a gold course, where is the contamination coming from?
This has probably been talked to death in another thread somewhere, but I'm too lazy and pressed for time to look it up, so I'll just rely on my mildly retarded brain and faulty memory.
We used to go skiing in Carter Lake 40 years ago during the Jurassic period, and it was a dump then, too (and full of some kind of water snake), and my folks said it was a dump when they were kids, so this is nothing new.
The problem with Carter Lake is geological. It's what's known as an 'oxbow' lake. Â Carter Lake was actually part of the Missouri River until a massive flood in the 1880's re-routed the river, and the 'lake' was formed. Â I'm sure most of you knew that already, but I'm wondering if that has something to do with the ever-present 'stagnation' problem. Â I don't know squat about hydraulics or river/lake geology, but common sense tells me that if you dig a hole in your back yard and fill it with sand and water, it'll get real funky in no time.
The lake is kinda' cool to look at when you're driving in from the airport, and if the cost isn't astronomical (in cases like this, I think federal 'earmarks' to save/upgrade it are totally appropriate). Â Ideally, I'd like to see it used again as a recreational lake, possibly with an 'intake' and 'outflow' connected to the Missouri River.
ricko wrote:The problem with Carter Lake is geological. It's what's known as an 'oxbow' lake. Carter Lake was actually part of the Missouri River until a massive flood in the 1880's re-routed the river, and the 'lake' was formed. I'm sure most of you knew that already, but I'm wondering if that has something to do with the ever-present 'stagnation' problem. I don't know squat about hydraulics or river/lake geology, but common sense tells me that if you dig a hole in your back yard and fill it with sand and water, it'll get real funky in no time.
Is a body of water has the right ecological make-up it won't go stagnate. Â However with all the fertilizer in it, the lake is unbalanced, there for the problem. Â We use to ski in it the mid 90's its a good lake, I just hope they can fill and clean it!
Flood control and channelization along the Missouri River has isolated this oxbow lake, eliminating any natural water recharge from the river directly into the lake.  The flood control efforts in the area have left Carter  Lake relying solely on rainfall and storm water run off for recharge.
Proposed Solution
· Â Â Construct an angled well on the Missouri River bank and connect it to the current flood control pump station located in Levi Carter Park. Â Ensure the water quality entering the lake is of high quality and volume to ensure the water level is supported and water quality improves.
Since it is relying on storm water, the fertilizer would be coming from the areas that drain into it - Airport, streets, Carter Lake, golf course, the hotels in the area.
After a little sleuthing, I found this (from the same website).
"Since the 1950's, a series of dams and levees have been constructed on the Missouri River to control seasonal flooding, which had contributed to the fluctuations of the water level of Carter Lake. Â The lake, no longer subject to an almost annual exchange of water to and from the Missouri River, has advanced into a hyper-eutropic state (it's funkiness factor), reducing it's utility as a recreational lake and acting as the terminal end from contaminants received in industrial, urban, agicultural, and storm run-off. Â Water quality has degraded and fluctuations in water quantity exacerbate (makes it way-funky) the problem."
So I guess my 'hole in the back-yard analogy' held water (spontaneous pun). Â So, to expand on my retarded analogy: If you dig a hole in the back yard the size of Carter Lake and fill it with sand and water and dead fish and snakes and agricultural/chemical run-off and poop and tires and random garbage, and let it sit there and evaporate and develop blue-green algae, you get something similar to a recreational lake in the Soviet Union.
After a little sleuthing, I found this (from the same website).
"Since the 1950's, a series of dams and levees have been constructed on the Missouri River to control seasonal flooding, which had contributed to the fluctuations of the water level of Carter Lake. The lake, no longer subject to an almost annual exchange of water to and from the Missouri River, has advanced into a hyper-eutropic state (it's funkiness factor), reducing it's utility as a recreational lake and acting as the terminal end from contaminants received in industrial, urban, agicultural, and storm run-off. Water quality has degraded and fluctuations in water quantity exacerbate (makes it way-funky) the problem."
So I guess my 'hole in the back-yard analogy' held water (spontaneous pun). So, to expand on my retarded analogy: If you dig a hole in the back yard the size of Carter Lake and fill it with sand and water and dead fish and snakes and agricultural/chemical run-off and poop and tires and random garbage, and let it sit there and evaporate and develop blue-green algae, you get something similar to a recreational lake in the Soviet Union.
Nice, and the sad thing is that you said it in the most elegantly way possible!
I say the state of Iowa needs to be 90% responsible for funding this fixer-upper lake...
I actually have friends who eat fish caught in Carter Lake. Â
I have fished that lake before and almost every fish caught had some abnormality. Â Skin burns, fin rot, pop eye, parasites, you name it. Â The entire nitrogen cycle in that lake is screwed up...
I should find the picture of the 25lb Blue Catfish I caught out of there that had melting/bloody fins. Â He was probably relieved that I caught him. Â
