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Posts tagged "lake levels"

Keeping an Eye on Springtime Lake Levels – UPDATE 5/2

Posted by PLSLWD Staff - May 3, 2018 - News, Flooding Updates, Prior Lake, Spring Lake

The City of Prior Lake and Prior Lake-Spring Lake Watershed District (PLSLWD) staff continually monitor local conditions including winter snowpack, precipitation, and lake levels to assess flooding risk. Early spring is one time of year when flooding potential receives some extra attention. According to the National Weather Service office in Chanhassen, the weather outlook and the potential for snow or rain are the biggest wild card every year. At this point, additional rainfall would be the main spring flood driver.

Based on an analysis done by City staff, there isn’t a strong correlation between the lake level at ice-out and the eventual high-water elevation for Prior Lake in any given year. For example, in 2014 the early spring level for Prior Lake was very close to the long-term average of about 901.6 on April 20; the record flooding level of 906.17 recorded on June 30 was caused by above-average rainfall events over a period of a few weeks in May and June. Other years, such as 2001, start out with high lake levels (902.75 on 4/15/2001) but the lake’s high-water level for the year is recorded shortly thereafter (904.33 on 4/30/2001); in that case melting snow likely contributed to the high-water levels.

CURRENT CONDITIONS AS OF MAY 2, 2018:  Ice-out occurred this week and there is no longer any snowpack in the watershed above Spring Lake and Prior Lake. Spring Lake levels have been declining for about a week, although it continues to discharge to Prior Lake. Prior Lake appears to have View Full Article →

View Full Article Prior Lake, Spring Lake, flooding, lake levels, spring

Keeping an Eye on Springtime Lake Levels

Posted by PLSLWD Staff - April 23, 2018 - News, Flooding Updates, Prior Lake, Spring Lake

The City of Prior Lake and Prior Lake-Spring Lake Watershed District (PLSLWD) staff continually monitor local conditions including winter snowpack, precipitation, and lake levels to assess flooding risk. Early spring is one time of year when flooding potential receives some extra attention. According to the National Weather Service office in Chanhassen, the weather outlook and the potential for snow or rain are the biggest wild card every year. At this point, additional rainfall would be the main spring flood driver.

Based on an analysis done by City staff, there isn’t a strong correlation between the lake level at ice-out and the eventual high-water elevation for Prior Lake in any given year. For example, in 2014 the early spring level for Prior Lake was very close to the long-term average of about 901.6 on April 20; the record flooding level of 906.17 recorded on June 30 was caused by above-average rainfall events over a period of a few weeks in May and June. Other years, such as 2001, start out with high lake levels (902.75 on 4/15/2001) but the lake’s high-water level for the year is recorded shortly thereafter (904.33 on 4/30/2001); in that case melting snow likely contributed to the high-water levels.

CURRENT CONDITIONS AS OF APRIL 23, 2018:  There is currently very little snowpack in the watershed above Spring Lake and Prior Lake after the warm weather this past weekend. Lake levels are rising and will continue to rise as the last of the snow melts.  The water level of Prior Lake was 902.89 on April 23 which is slightly above the long-term early spring average of about 902.6. The lake continues to discharge through View Full Article →

View Full Article Prior Lake, Spring Lake, flooding, lake levels, spring

Spring Lake Dam Update – May 30, 2017

Posted by PLSLWD Staff - May 30, 2017 - News, Prior Lake

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 Prior Lake, Spring Lake, Spring Lake dam, high water, lake levels

Keeping an Eye on Springtime Lake Levels: spring flooding potential update

Posted by PLSLWD Staff - March 31, 2017 - News, Flooding Updates, Prior Lake

Update supplied by the City of Prior Lake.

Although the City of Prior Lake and Prior Lake-Spring Lake Watershed District (PLSLWD) staff continually monitor local conditions such as winter snowpack, precipitation, and lake levels to assess flooding risk, early spring is one time of year when flooding potential receives a lot of attention. City staff performed an analysis last year and showed there isn’t a strong correlation between the lake level at the ice-out date and the eventual high water elevation for Prior Lake for any given year.

In 2014, the early spring level for Prior Lake was very close to the long-term average of about 901.6 on April 20, and the record flooding level of 906.17 recorded on June 30 was caused by above average rainfall events over a period of a few weeks in May and June. Other years, such as 2001, start out high (902.75 on 4/15/2001) and the high level for the year is recorded shortly thereafter (904.33 on 4/30/2001); in this case melting snow could have contributed to the high-water levels.

There is currently no snowpack in the watershed above Spring Lake and Prior Lake. Water levels for Prior Lake are above the long-term early spring average of 902.58 as of March 27 and the lake has been discharging through the Prior Lake Outlet Channel since last fall. Our region has been experiencing some very wet weather lately, leading to full storage areas upstream (ponds, wetlands, depressions) and therefore lots of runoff every time we get more precipitation.

Our average annual precipitation is about 31.1 inches and the 365-day precipitation sum (amount of water we’ve received since March 22, 2016) is 40.8 inches. Even with the lack of snow, we could still experience spring flooding, but lake levels will depend only on the precipitation we receive. The National Weather Service in Chanhassen, in their initial Spring 2017 Flood Outlook, agrees with this assessment, stating: “The main flood threat will be determined by the occurrence (or lack of) heavy snow events in March and/or heavy rain events in March and April.” We will continue to keep an eye on the situation.

City staff is currently working on finalizing a plan that includes flood trigger points (lake elevations) for flood response actions and the role the city will play in those actions. The plan will be presented to the City Council soon in the form of a City Policy.

The PLSLWD is also working on short-term flood solutions by looking at how to optimize the operation of the Prior Lake Outlet Structure, which also will involve action at certain lake elevations. Per the recently-completed joint Flood Study, these short-term flood solutions are needed, combined with a long-term strategy of upstream water storage, to help reduce flood impacts on our residents and businesses.

View Full Article Prior Lake, Spring Lake, flooding, flooding potential, lake levels

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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.
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