Below are before and after pictures of a lakeshore stabilization project which was completed on Island Lake. The project was completed with state cost-share dollars administered by the District. Cost-share dollars can be approved for as much as up to 75% of the approved cost. The project was done with rock rip-rap and a native shoreline planting to reduce erosion and sediment loading into Island Lake.
Pictured below is Larry Hagfors’ stabilized lakeshore on Island Lake. The project was completed in winter. The height of the bank made winter construction from the lake a good way to complete the project. The bank had a 4 foot vertical cut that would keep washing into the lake. Twenty cubic yards of sewer rock were placed next to the bank to get the desired 4:1 slope. Nonwoven geotextile fabric was then placed before the rock riprap was installed. Ninety-seven cubic yards of riprap were placed a foot higher than the desired height to allow for settling when the ice melted. The project worked well. The Pine SWCD used State Cost-Share to cover 75% of the cost of the project. MPJ Enterprises was awarded the project with a bid of $4,601.75. The Pine SWCD requires a 25 foot native buffer for someone to receive funds if they are using riprap. It was decided that the height of the eroded bank warranted the use of the riprap. If the eroded bank was only a foot or two high, cost-share would not have been used for the riprap. Above the eroded area, there was 20 feet of natural area on the slope, so the Pine SWCD required a 5 foot buffer on his lawn area which Larry planted this spring. Larry’s brother Dale, who lives right next door, said, “Every year in the spring there has been a big brown plume in the lake. This year there wasn’t one.” If you have erosion like this, call the Pine SWCD for possible state cost-share, technical advice, or if you would like more information on planting native grasses, flowers, and shrubs.
