Prior Lake Spring Lake Watershed District
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Spring Lake

Lake Report Cards: How’s the Water Quality?

Posted by PLSLWD Staff - November 13, 2020 - News, Prior Lake, Spring Lake

Wondering how the water quality is in your local lake? The District has compiled a report card for many of the District lakes. The report cards has some quick facts about the lake and highlights how well the lake scores for several water quality indicators.

To view the report cards, click the View Full Article button (below the Cate’s Lake Report Card) OR visit the Waterbodies page for the lake you are interested in and scroll to the Water Quality section. Click on the report card to view a clearer version with text that is easier to read.

There are report cards for Lower Prior Lake, Upper Prior Lake, Spring Lake, Fish Lake, Pike Lake, Buck Lake and Cates Lake. View Full Article →

View Full Article

2020 Adventures in Carp

Posted by PLSLWD Staff - October 16, 2020 - News, Carp Management, Prior Lake, Spring Lake, Where are the carp?

2020 Carp Management:

The carp have kept the District very busy in 2020! Check out this StoryMap to see what all we’ve been doing. More information on the District’s common carp management program visit the Carp Management page on our website.

How do we track the carp?

As with many living creatures, carp move around throughout the year. Where do they go and how do we find them? Check out our Journey of a Carp StoryMap!

View Full Article 2020, carp, carp locations, carp management, carp tracking, common carp

Your Lakeshore Connection

Posted by PLSLWD Staff - September 10, 2020 - News, Prior Lake, Spring Lake

Think what you do in your yard doesn’t affect the lake? Think again.

Your property has a lakeshore connection and what you do on your property affects how clean your lake is for you and plants and wildlife with whom you share the lake.

The good news? You can help make your lake cleaner and healthier. Start with your shoreline and yard.

View Full Article

New Carp Barrier & Maintenance Deck at Ferric Chloride Facility

Posted by PLSLWD Staff - September 3, 2020 - News, Highway 13 Ferric Chloride, Spring Lake

Carp beware! The installation of the new carp barrier and maintenance deck for the District’s ferric chloride weir is now complete. The new structure will prevent carp from accessing the upstream Geis wetland for spawning, includes safety improvements for staff that will allow for easier maintenance. The new barrier replaces an older barrier which was no longer functioning well and was more challenging to maintain.

The photo below shows the downstream side of the ferric weir with the carp barriers in place. The angled tines of the carp can be temporarily lowered to dislodge any debris caught by the grates.

Common carp are a non-native invasive species from Eurasia which are currently found in many District lakes and associated wetlands. Common carp compete with native species and their bottom-feeding habits stir up sediment, reducing water quality and uprooting beneficial aquatic plants in our lakes. The District has a comprehensive carp management program which seeks to control the carp populations in District lakes and wetlands to levels and bring the populations below levels which harm the lakes. For more information on our carp program, visit the project page here.

The ferric chloride facility treats water from the County Ditch 13 system before it enters Spring Lake. Spring Lake is impaired for excess levels of phosphorus and the ferric chloride system removes phosphorus before it reaches the lake. Ferric chloride binds with phosphorus which makes it unavailable to algae. For a video tour of the ferric chloride system, visit our YouTube page here.

For more information on the ferric chloride facility, visit the project’s page on our website.

View Full Article FeCl, carp, carp barrier, ferric chloride

Hike the Watershed: Take the Challenge!

Posted by PLSLWD Staff - July 21, 2020 - News, Prior Lake, Spring Lake

Visit your favorite parks and discover new places close to home! Take the challenge to Hike the Watershed and you can be eligible to earn prizes.

This is a great activity for all ages – go for a walk or grab your bikes and head out the door. Use the Hike the Watershed checklist to keep track of the parks you’ve visited.

For extra fun, bring along the Hike the Watershed Bingo card and mark down the things you see while hiking the watershed!

In celebration of the District’s 50th Anniversary, Hike the Watershed highlights many local parks, smaller lakes in the watershed and District restoration projects. We hope you will take this opportunity to get to know your backyard just a little bit better!

Prizes: Visit 6 places on the Hike the Watershed list or score a bingo to win a special edition Hike the Watershed waterproof sticker. For an extra challenge visit all 11 sites or score a blackout on your bingo card to earn some extra swag.

To collect your prize: Email info@plslwd.org 1) a list of the sites you visited and a photo from your adventures or 2) a photo of your completed bingo card along with a photo from your explorations of the District.

View Full Article 50 Anniversary, 50 years, 50th Anniversary, Get Involved, Hike the Watershed, PLSLWD, challenge, explore, explore the watershed, family, family-friendly, lakes
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News & Events

  • Ongoing Projects
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News Archives

Prior Lake – Spring Lake Watershed District

The District covers about 42 square miles in Scott County, MN. Water in the PLSLWD flows mainly from the southwest to the northeast through Spring, Upper Prior and Lower Prior Lakes, and then north through the Prior Lake Outlet Channel to the Minnesota River near Valley Fair amusement park.
Clean Water Land & Legacy Amendment

Prior Lake - Spring Lake Watershed District
4646 Dakota Street SE
Prior Lake, MN 55372

Phone: (952) 447-4166
Email: info@plslwd.org

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