Events
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Preserving and Restoring Watersheds and Wetlands
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Friends of Cherokee Marsh
Lake Levels
News and links relating to the lake-level policy for the Yahara chain of lakes.
Advisory Group Formed to Study Lake Levels
The DNR has convened a Yahara Lakes Water Level Advisory Group (YLAG2) to develop recommendations on how to best manage the Yahara lakes as a system. Meetings are open to the public with opportunities for comments and questions. For more information, visit:
http://www.countyofdane.com/lwrd/landconservation/ylag.aspx
Madison's Request to Review the Lake Levels
Madison's request to the DNR. August 15, 2008.
The DNR's response to Madison. November 10, 2008.
Madison's Response to the DNR's response. April 2, 2009.
Policies and Recommendations
Lake Level Orders
The lake-level orders from 1979 define the current policy for controlling water levels at the Tenney Park dam.
Lake Level Management Guide for the Yahara Chain of Lakes
Dane County is responsible for implementing the DNR's lake-level orders. The county's Lake Level Management Guide for the Yahara Chain of Lakes details the strategies used to manage lake levels within regulatory limits. Approved by Lakes and Watershed Commission October 13, 2010
Dane County Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan
The plan's mitigation strategy includes these objectives:
Ensure that the Department of Natural Resources affords flood risk as high priority when evaluating the public interest in the lake level orders for the Yahara chain of lakes.
Maintain the levels of the Yahara lakes at the lower limit of the DNR’s set operating range as part of a comprehensive strategy that addresses flood risk and the needs of fisheries, recreational interests, agricultural interests, and lakeshore property owners.
Dane County Wetlands Resource Management Guide
The Capital Area Regional Planning Commision's Dane County Wetlands Resource Management Guide (2008) classifies the Cherokee Marsh wetlands as Group I Wetlands: Wetlands in this group are the best in the county....Every effort should be made to protect them. Other Group I Wetlands are the wetlands between Waubesa and Kegonsa and the Waubesa Wetlands State Natural Area on the southwest end of Waubesa.
In the News
Court Decision
In July 2011, Wisconsin’s District IV Court of Appeals released a decision upholding DNR’s authority to consider impacts to wetlands when establishing water levels for impounded lakes. The decision said:
The DNR is not required to consider the economic effects of its water level determinations on residential property values, business income and tax revenue; (2) the DNR did not exceed the scope of its authority under § 31.02(1) by considering the potential effects proposed water levels would have on adjacent wetlands; and (3) the DNR did not exceed the scope of its authority under the statute by considering wetland water quality standards under NR 103. More information
Local Media Reports
Lake-level letter: The untold story. Isthmus, November 26, 2008.
DNR on water levels: Hurry up and wait. Isthmus, November 13, 2008.
Getting too high on the lake: Mendota's elevated water is a disaster waiting to happen. Isthmus, June 28, 2007.
Studies and Data
Lake Level Data. Information from the Dane County Land and Water Resources Department.
USGS real-time and historical streamflow and lake level data.
Madison Lakes and Nearby Waters Presentations from the North American Lake Management Society’s 25th Symposium in 2005. Includes:
Could Urbanization of the Yahara Watershed Cause Both Increased Flooding and More Boat Groundings?- Kenneth Potter, UW-Madison, Dept. Civil & Environmental Engineering. Page 7 shows how Lake Mendota's yearly maximum levels have been rising over the years.
Groundwater Interactions with the Madison Lakes, Dane County, Wisconsin – Kenneth Bradbury, Wisconsin Geological & Natural History Survey
Simulation of the Effects of Operating Lakes Mendota, Monona, and Waubesa, South-Central Wisconsin, as Multipurpose Reservoirs to Maintain Dry-Weather Flow. Report on USGS study, 1999.