MADISON LAKE WATERSHED AND LAKE ASSOCIATION
PROJECTS
Score Your Shore Garden
Established in May 2023
The Madison Lake Watershed and Lake Association, with the help of two Master Gardens and resident volunteers, created a shoreline garden on the east side of North Shore Park, as a visual aid for assessment of habitat conditions of developed lake lots. The new habitat follows best practices of creating a shoreline buffer zone, as defined by MN DNR Score Your Shore. Gary Schmidt donated a rain barrel to aid in watering the garden. Placards will be added to provide information about plants and habitat.
Rain Garden
Established in 2016
With an interest in improving the water quality of Madison Lake, the Madison Lake Watershed and Lake Association in collaboration with the City of Madison Lake and All Saints Catholic Church constructed a Rain Garden in 2016 in order to reduce pollutants from entering Madison Lake. The garden located at the south end of 4th Street below All Saints Academy Childcare Center, redirects storm sewer water and immediate runoff into a biofiltration basin. Through a series of elevations and plants, sediments and pollutants are trapped before the water reaches the lake.
Citizen Stream Monitoring
Ongoing project since 2012
Lake and stream monitoring continues to be a major initiative for the lake association. We participate in the Citizens Stream Monitoring Program sponsored by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA). We are part of a network of nearly 400 volunteers monitoring over 500 sites across Minnesota’s ten major river basins. As part of the Minnesota River basin we monitor 11 sites within our watershed looking at water clarity, temperature, appearance, suitability for recreation, and in some cases phosphorus and suspended solids loads. We provide the MPCA with the information we collect. We also use the information with other state and local organizations as well as grant applications.
Bray Park Shoreline Restoration
Completed 2011/2011
During the winter of 2011/2012 over 1500 feet of severely eroded shoreline in Bray Park was protected with rip rap. The project was spearheaded by Curt Kloss and carried out with the support of Blue Earth County and the Madison Lake Watershed and Lake Association. Blue Earth County provided 26 truckloads of rock and trucking. Equipment and labor was provided by lake association members and friends: Jim Schmidt with Creative Landscape, Leon Depuydt with Leon’s Custom Backhoe, Larry Schulze and Tom Dougan. Labor to place the rock was provided by a large group of lake association members. The results of the work have been excellent. The rip rap has prevented the further erosion of shoreline and loss of trees on the hillside below the Bray Park campsites.
Bray Park Spring Clean-up
Ongoing project 2011
The lake association sponsors a Bray Park Clean-up Day each spring on the Saturday after Earth Day. An average of 25 people help scour the park and adjacent areas for trash in about two to three hours. We conclude with lunch at the Bray Park cabin, usually hot dogs, brats, and chili. The lake association hopes to expand the cleanup day to other areas of the lake and watershed in the coming years.
Eurasian Watermilfoil Treatment
August 5, 2014
The Madison Lake Watershed and Lake Association (MLWLA) was awarded a DNR grant of $2000 to treat 20 acres of Eurasian Watermilfoil in Madison Lake in 2014. The area treated was determined by Allison Gamble, DNR Invasive Species Specialist, after extensive sampling of suspected areas of infestation. Click HERE to see a map of the treated area. The treatments were completed by Cory Culbert, Lakescapes LLC, on July 17, 2014. The DNR grant covered approximately 50% of the cost with the lake association covering the remaining cost of treatment.
In nutrient-rich lakes like Madison Lake Eurasian Watermilfoil can form thick underwater stands of tangled stems and mats of vegetation at the water’s surface. In shallow areas the plant can interfere with water recreation such as boating, fishing, and swimming. The plant's floating canopy can also crowd out important native water plants.
