Latest news with #WilliamOBrienStatePark
Daily Mail
3 hours ago
- General
- Daily Mail
Lake mysteriously vanishes and leaves confused kids playing in the dry sand
A popular lake in Minnesota has completely disappeared due to a maintenance mistake, leaving disappointed visitors to play in dry sand. Lake Alice has vanished from William O'Brien State Park and all that remains of the once sprawling body of water is a creek running through the empty lake bed and swarms of dead fish. The lake was completely drained due to 'a mechanical failure of the water control structure' that came after officials attempted to control increasing water levels. A malfunctioning valve led to a 'significant drawdown' of the water level on the lake, officials say. 'Due to heavy precipitation last month, water levels on Lake Alice were steadily increasing,' said a statement from officials. When water levels became 'high enough that water was flowing over the dike between the lake and the St Croix River', Minnesota Department of Natural Resources staff opened the water control structure's valve to release excess water from Lake Alice, but they couldn't close the valve. Park-goers say they've never seen anything like it. 'This is crazy. I've been camping here for years, and I've never ever seen it like this. It's kind of sad, actually,' Rose Wolfson, a Minnesotan, told KSTP. However this time around, the Wolfson's trip to Lake Alice was a flop - the confused children used their water toys to play in the dry sand and they certainly didn't get a chance to swim. 'They're [kids] having fun. They're disappointed they couldn't swim, but they're making the best of it,' Wolfson said. 'I'd like to see a lake again so that they could swim.' Another park visitor said, 'I feel badly for the fish population.' Lake Alice is known for great fishing, with various species that include bluegill, black crappie, largemouth bass, northern pike, walleye, yellow perch and bullhead. The lake usually spreads over 26 acres and is nine feet deep. Wayne Boerner, of Minnesota DNR, said the fish population will take a massive hit, but that other species will benefit from that. 'A bad day for one animal is a good day for another,' Boerner said. 'This morning you saw a few hawks going around. They are using this as basically somewhere to feed. You also have turtles down there. They're feeding on some of the dead fish.' 'They're [kids] having fun. They're disappointed they couldn't swim, but they're making the best of it,' a local said Lake Alice hasn't always existed. It was once just a stream, until the DNR installed a dike and water control system in 1961, turning it into a lake. 'We are seeing what is underneath Lake Alice right now from pre-1961,' Boerner said. 'We always want to do proactive measures for a lot of our infrastructure. In some cases, we don't have the money to do it certain times, or it gets delayed.' 'This was an accident through failed infrastructure,' he explained. The DNR said it could take at least a month to get the water back in Lake Alice. Luckily, the William O'Brien State Park sits on the St. Croix River, another great option for visitors looking for fishing, boating and paddling.
The Independent
3 hours ago
- Climate
- The Independent
‘I just don't know how it happens': Minnesota lake nearly entirely drained after ‘mechanical issue'
A lake near the Twin Cities has reportedly been completely drained due to a "mechanical issue." Local officials are working to restore Alice Lake in William O'Brien State Park back to its typical depth of nine-feet deep after it was accidentally drained. Recent rainstorms in the area flooded the lake, causing its waters to spill over into the nearby St Croix River. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources workers opened a valve allowing some of the excess water to flow out, but that valve was left open and nearly the entire lake drained. "When the water level was back to what it should be, the staff attempted to close that valve, but the mechanism that closes that valve was not functioning, and the valve could not be closed," Sara Berhow of the state's Parks & Trails agency told CBS News. Berhow said that state workers are fixing the water control structure that malfunctioned and will restore the lake to its previous state. "Once the valve is able to be closed again, the streams will replenish the water in the lakes, so it will naturally come back to the level," she said. According to the state's Parks and Trails department, once the valve has been repaired it will take approximately a month before the lake returns to normal levels. Seeing the lake in its current state — empty — was a shock to local residents. "It's crazy, for this to happen, I just don't know how it happens," one resident, Dane Zierman, told the broadcaster. "It's insane. You just start driving down, and you see all these weeds and there's just no water." Unfortunately, many of the lake's fish didn't survive the ordeal. When locals approach to shoreline, they are met with a field of dead fish where water once was. "As soon as you get on the dock, you just see all of these dead fish. There's some big guys in here, too, some big giant carp, some big northerns, it's just devastating," Zierman said.
New York Times
3 hours ago
- Climate
- New York Times
‘Only a Stream Remains': Minnesota Lake Is Drained After Valve Malfunction
A normally 9-foot-deep, 26-acre lake northeast of the Twin Cities is now mostly a dry lake bed, and nearly all of its fish have died, after a valve malfunctioned and caused water to drain out over the weekend. Park staff opened a valve last month at Alice Lake, a man-made lake and popular fishing destination in Minnesota's William O'Brien State Park, because heavy rain had caused water levels to rise. 'At that time, with the elevated lake level, water was beginning to overflow from the lake into the St. Croix River, raising erosion concerns,' the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources said in a statement on Monday. The controlled draining is a routine procedure, officials said, and it had successfully addressed the erosion issue. On Saturday, park staff returned to close the valve. But they could not do so. 'We discovered the closure mechanism had failed, and the valve was stuck open,' officials said in the statement. This resulted in a 'near total water level drawdown.' Alice Lake is usually stocked with a variety of fish, including bluegill, black crappie, largemouth bass, northern pike, walleye, yellow perch and bullhead, according to the department of natural resources. But nearly all of the fish in the lake have died, and state officials said that it would take at least one month for the water to be restored. Many park visitors over the weekend and on Monday were seen carrying dying fish out of the remaining shallow water to try to move them to the St. Croix River, about 50 feet away. It is unclear how many were saved, but officials referred to a 'fish kill' in the lake, meaning that most of them had died. Lake Alice was created in the early 1960s as a children's fishing pond, because the nearby St. Croix River had currents and steep banks that were not safe for children. The lake's source is groundwater. Officials said that they would offer a preliminary assessment by the end of this week and a timeline. 'Visitors should be aware,' the park said on its website, 'that only a stream remains on Lake Alice at this time.'
The Guardian
6 hours ago
- Climate
- The Guardian
Minnesota works to replenish lake level after draining from mechanical failure
Minnesota officials are working to restore water to one of the state's lakes after 'a mechanical failure of the water control structure' there caused it to drain significantly over the weekend. In a statement on Monday, the Minnesota department of natural resources (DNR) said that it was responding to the issue at Lake Alice in William O'Brien state park while noting that the malfunction in question had resulted in a 'significant drawdown of the lake level'. The department as of Monday said that 'only a stream remains on Lake Alice at this time' and warned visitors that water recreation on the lake will likely be affected for 'at least four to six weeks'. The lake's swimming beach is not currently usable, and the drawdown has 'caused a fish kill in the lake', officials added. Lake Alice is typically 9ft (2.7 meters) deep and spans 26 acres (10 hectares), according to the DNR's website. In a Monday afternoon update on social media, officials with Minnesota said that Lake Alice is 'spring-fed lake with an earthen dike that holds water back', and it has a 65-year-old water concrete control structure that 'can be manually operated to manage lake levels by allowing water to flow out into the St Croix River'. 'Due to heavy precipitation last month, water levels on Lake Alice were steadily increasing,' said the statement from officials. The statement added that when water levels became 'high enough that water was flowing over the dike between the lake and the St Croix River, DNR staff opened the water control structure's valve to release excess water from Lake Alice'. 'Upon attempting to close the valve over the weekend, staff discovered the control structure closure mechanism had failed and was stuck open, which has caused the lake to drain,' the statement continued. The statement said staff had since been working to resolve the issue, but a 'timeline for restoring lake levels is not known yet'.
CBS News
a day ago
- Climate
- CBS News
Alice Lake in William O'Brien State Park drained due to "mechanical issue," DNR says
Officials are working to restore a lake northeast of the Twin Cities after a "mechanical issue" caused nearly all the water to drain. Lake Alice in William O'Brien State Park is typically 9 feet deep and stretches 26 acres, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. However recent rains caused the water level to rise and flow over into the St. Croix River. The department said staff were working to drain some of the excess water from the lake but an issue with its "water control structure" caused it to drain almost completely. "Due to a mechanical issue, the control structure valve is stuck open, which has caused the lake to drain to much lower levels," said DNR spokesperson Sara Berhow. Berhow added that staff are working on next steps to "repair the control structure and restore the lake." Lake Alice is known for its wide variety of fish. The DNR says anglers can find bluegill, largemouth bass, northern pikes and walleyes among other varieties. WCCO crews however saw fish dying in the drained lake. This is a developing story and will be updated.
