The situation in Kiwanis Lake is improving as trout fishing season begins.
That doesn’t mean there still isn’t a lot of work to do. Parks and Recreation Director Chad Shoemaker told …
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The situation in Kiwanis Lake is improving as trout fishing season begins.
That doesn’t mean there still isn’t a lot of work to do. Parks and Recreation Director Chad Shoemaker told Park Board members at their regular monthly meeting on Monday, Nov. 6, that the lake has been stocked but problems from this summer that have been building still exist. The fountain in the middle of the lake has been off most of the summer but is now running again.
“We’re still fighting the algae,” Shoemaker said. “We’re keeping the fountain running somewhat by cleaning it all the time. It’s getting better and it’s running longer between clean-outs.
Shoemaker said they’ve ordered another pallet of treatment for the lake. However, he believes at some point this winter and next spring the plan needs to pivot after most of the fish have been caught.
“We’re going to have to quit throwing so much chemical at that lake,” Shoemaker said.
Shoemaker said the plan also depends on Mother Nature’s help. He said one of the major reasons the problem got so bad this summer was the lack of rain. He said the lake needs the rain to run out the chemicals that are not only fixing the problem but also getting out the fertilizers that run off into the lake from properties nearby.
“If it’s not raining our ability to treat that lake is going to be pretty impacted,” Shoemaker said. “If we have another summer like this summer where we didn’t get any runoff rain it’s going to look just like it did this year. It’s not what we want but it’s the reality of the situation.”
Shoemaker said the hope is to get a normal summer with adequate rainfall that will allow them to hammer the algae and get it cleaned up before next year’s fall fishing season.
In related news, Shoemaker said there will be a lot of roofs coming off the shelters near the lake. The city has received an insurance settlement from last April’s hail storm and will be replacing the roofs. Shoemaker said the best time to work on the shelters is in the winter before reservations heat up in the spring.
