A Race Against Time For This Minnesota Lake

A Minnesota Lake is on the verge of extinction within 300 years unless we do something about it, and the US Army Corps of Engineers, have been working on a project to save it for decades. Some innovative people began fundraising many years ago to work on saving it; or at last some of it as long as possible.

According to a news source, Lake Pepin extended all the way up to St. Paul approximately 12,000 years ago; but because of the million of tons of sediment that is settling at the opening of the lake every year, Lake Pepin is slowly disappearing.

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AMAZING DREDGING CREATING ISLANDS

What I find incredible, is that temporary islands of sediment are being constructed by the Brennan Company. They are being created with the sediment that is blocking the lake, to hopefully allow for deeper channel passages. The sediment is being dug up and deposited a few hundred yards away where it is being formed into the islands. Incredible!

Do they have to do this? The answer is no. But if they don't do something, Lake Pepin will just disappear and become an entirely different ecosystem, and they don't want that to happen.

FUNDRAISING BEGAN A DECADE AGO

So a decade ago, fundraising and planning began so the US Army Corps of Engineers could maintain a nine-foot channel through Lake Pepin and the upper Mississippi. It is one of only 10 sites as part of a nationwide pilot program. There is a lot of fine material and nowhere to put it, so creating islands out of the material seemed like a great idea, temporarily. Eventually, they are hoping to find a permanent location for the sediment, but right now, creating these islands is a way to store the material, and maintain the channel.

Unfortunately, the project is expected to be completed in 2027 and won't stop Lake Pepin from filling in; but it will help keep a large access channel open to Bay City.

Watch the full video on the story below.

Fox 9 Minneapolis/YouTube