585 Greenleaf Dr N - Letter re: water quality issuesSeptember 3, 2020
Ms. Jodie Douglas
585 N Greenleaf Dr
Eagan, MN 55123-2025
Re: Hay Lake Concerns
Dear Ms. Douglas,
On behalf of the Eagan City Council, thank you for your August 24 letter expressing concerns about
Hay Lake and requesting our explanation about the City's priorities for this lake. We appreciate folks
like you who are not only concerned about Eagan's quality of life and environment, but also
committed to taking responsibility and actions to further improve our community. I assure you
everyone on the Council aligns similarly as you in these regards.
As you may know, 2020 marks the 30th year of Eagan's surface -water management program. Our
progressive commitment to protecting and improving lakes and wetlands was exemplary in 1990,
when the City adopted the first comprehensive, water -management plan by a Minnesota city.
Eagan's surface waters are important community assets. They define the City's character and help
make Eagan a desirable place to live, work, and visit. But with about 1,150 waters, it's easy to affirm
one of our primary environmental challenges is how do we best protect and improve our lakes and
wetlands, while our community grows and has limited resources.
In March, the Council adopted Eagan's next surface -water plan, which provides goals, policies, and
actions to protect and improve lakes and wetlands through 2027. Our plan's primary goal is to
manage lakes using science -based, common-sense approaches that meet or exceed regulatory
requirements. We're aiming for lakes' natural state: clear water and a rich community of native
aquatic plants, and we're prioritizing controlling lake phosphorus from stormwater and sediment
sources. The City is managing lakes through customized and evolving plans, considering unique
conditions, watersheds, current studies, ongoing projects, and opportunities.
Our plan classifies 34 lakes on inherent characteristics, conditions, and abilities to support uses, and
it ranks them on use and restoration potential. The plan prioritizes Hay Lake sixth among 11 "L2"
shallow lakes. The City intends these lakes will support limited recreation (e.g., fishing and canoeing)
for most of the summer in most years. As with other L2 lakes, achieving these goals is ongoing.
Our Public Works/Water Resources Division employs "adaptive management," which recognizes
lakes are complex and respond dynamically to natural and unnatural influences. It's called adaptive
because we assess our past actions and apply lessons learned by adapting future actions to strive
toward goals.
MAYOR I MIKE MAGUIRE COUNCIL MEMBERS I PAUL BAKKEN, CYNDEE FIELDS, GARY HANSEN. MEG TILLEY CITYOFEAGAN.COM
CITY ADMINISTRATOR I DAVID M. OSBERG MUNICIPAL CENTER ! 3830 PILOT KNOB ROAD, EAGAN, MN 55122-1810
MAIN: (651) 675-5000 HEARING IMPAIRED; (651) 454-8535 MAINTENANCE: (651) 657-5300 UTILITIES: (651) 675-5200
The Council believes Eagan has the best city water -resources staff in Minnesota. Our Water
Resources team is very dedicated and highly professional and has about 50 combined years serving
Eagan. We fully trust them to implement our surface -water plans efficiently and effectively.
You may know the City has held three neighborhood meetings since 2004 to discuss Hay Lake.
Each time, we affirmed the lake's water quality has been much better than state minimum standards
since 2000, while also admitting that managing aquatic plants in shallow lakes such as Hay is very
challenging. We also encouraged residents to unify as a lake community for best cooperative
opportunities with the City. The coexistence of these facts doesn't mean the City dismisses residents'
concerns, doesn't prioritize this lake, and considers you to be "on, .. .vour own." Rather, the City
continues to understand your concerns, to invest resources to benefi11.-._-.!,- aV Lake, and to hope a lake
community will share responsibilities and actions with us.
�T"992, cost -shared herbicide
e, ....
Eagan's resources have monitored Hay Lake's water quail ----------s..... 2h.
applications coordinated by residents, supported a sport fishery since 2"00%,and mapped lake depths
in 2013. But our 2015 Neighborhood Lakes project —than-k", o a 91 $167,00O:"'=tant from the Minnesota
Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) significantly adv a"n"" d our understanaltin-1 `,--of 12 Eagan lakes
(including Hay). We analyzed phosphorus from rw,- ""'heds and in lakes, s e- [wed phosphorus -
reduction goals, and identified possible actions an-de'.116"Miects to be"' fit water qua' y,..,;--
The study found Hay Lake's phosphorus isn't
exsav - -early half of it is from upstream--------- ----- - --- -- - --
watersheds (including Fitz and Holz lakes).,,, Almost 20 -S from lake sediment. Although MPCA
perc. ,.n: �._ I
-----------
doesn't require Eagan to reduce phosp Hay Lak .. reauires reductions in Fitz and Holz
t
" ...... `=d ds. Thus, the City applied alum
lakes because they aren't meeting mini te,rcj ruality s
(aluminum sulfate) to Fitz (2017) and sedioM l-1-1-Int phosphorus. We expect these
--------_--
"'.1'
upstream improvements will benefit Hay La"k-la. In Ju._=_`;" 0 -9,, 6� council approved Public Worksna!2 1--- �-th
an arum -----
-- ul
2020-2024 Capital Improve m.-,f-6-;-ntTP1a.n which "'n,-c.-,juSQ application to Hay Lake this year to
M-re `_=' I v n -, sidents about the application in advance and
reduce sediment phosphor'-.U"s..._The, t will i 'fio.
after details are determine
Although the City has i'm""
we acknowledge managi
remain very chaHeQgn_cj
Please co"""Wtt W
emacbe1h0'C;"'itvofeaaan.
Sincerely,
Mike Maguire, Mayor-"
ed hund-r".'e"'. s of thous6,,dJs of dollars in Hay Lake over nearly 30 years
_qua.t,[- nrxt��s.in thy .
W-1; which averages less than four feet deep, will
-- ;-;h,,.is,. I a
Manager Eric Macbeth at (651) 675-5330 or
for funh',br clarifications or details about our priorities for Hay Lake.
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Cc: City Council Members
Dave Osberg, City Administrator
Russ Matthys, Director of Public Works
Eric Macbeth, Water Resources Manager
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