As of today, Prior Lake is at an elevation of 903.54 and Spring lake is at 911.81 feet and the amount water entering and leaving Prior Lake is approximately the same. Given the sparse rainfall over the holiday weekend and the effects from evaporation and infiltration, both lakes are on a downward trend.
Last Friday, the Prior Lake-Spring Lake Watershed District ran a model to determine how much rain was needed for Prior Lake to reach the Ordinary High Water mark of 903.9 feet. With that information, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources gave permission for the District to put in a temporary dam on the Spring Lake outlet if over 1.5 inches of rainfall fell in the watershed. Over the weekend, there was only .03 inches of rain, so it was unnecessary to put the dam in. The District, Spring Lake Township and the City of Prior Lake will continue to monitor the lake levels and precipitation. Please refer to www.plslwd.org or www.cityofpriorlake.com for the latest information.
Lake levels can always be viewed on our website on the individual lake pages (see Spring Lake here and Prior Lake here).
View Full Article