Spirit Lake, Iowa — The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is beginning another phase of work on Center Lake this fall to improve habitat and water quality on the 257-acre lake southwest of Spirit Lake.
DNR Fisheries Biologist Mike Hawkins says the restoration project began in 2013.
Hawkins says the multi-year project was undertaken to improve Center Lake’s water quality.
He says the current phase of the project includes stabilizing more than 1,100 feet of shoreline along the north shore of Center Lake.
Hawkins says construction on all components should be completed by the fall of 2017.
To facilitate and provide construction access to the steep shoreline work on the north side of Center Lake, project partners will attempt to temporarily lower the lake approximately one foot this fall. But Hawkins says the lake will only be lowered long enough to complete the shoreline work.
Past and ongoing work on Center Lake is being funded by the Iowa Lake Restoration Program, Okoboji Foundation, Dickinson County Water Quality Commission, Iowa DNR (EPA 319 Program), Center Lake Improvement and Protection Association, Iowa Watershed Improvement and Review Board, City of Spirit Lake, Lakes Regional Healthcare and Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship. The project has also been supported by the Okoboji Protective Association and the Iowa Great Lakes Association.
