GIBBON — The Department of Natural Resources will begin a drawdown on Clear Lake in Sibley County beginning this spring.
The DNR says the lowering of water levels on the 505-acre lake will improve fish and wildlife habitat as well as water quality.
Clear Lake has been overwhelmed by large populations of common carp, causing turbid water and impeding aquatic plant growth.
Common carp can have a negative impact on water quality when they uproot native plants and disturb phosphorous-rich bottom sediments through their feeding habits. A Minnesota Pollution Control Agency watershed assessment performed in 2017 (https://webapp.pca.state.mn.us/surface-water/impairment/72-0089-00) found that Clear Lake had phosphorus levels more than three times the acceptable level.
Clear Lake is susceptible to wind and wave action that has eroded the lakeshore and further impaired submerged vegetation growth.
“Clear Lake has been hampered by impaired water quality for two decades,” Scott Mackenthun, Hutchinson area fisheries supervisor said in a news release.
Plans call for the lowering of water levels by about 4 feet to create conditions for a winterkill and reduce common carp populations. The drawdown will also allow sediments to consolidate, which will permit new growth of submergent and emergent vegetation.
The lowered water levels mimic a drought, which can act as a natural “reset” to an ecosystem. The drawdown will occur throughout the open water season of 2024.
Once water quality improves, the DNR will stock walleye, northern pike, yellow perch and bluegill in Clear Lake.
Anyone with questions about the Clear Lake project can contact Mackenthun at scott.mackenthun@state.mn.us or at 320-753-0324.