Plan For Pipeline To Keep White Bear Lake Water Levels High
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- White Bear Lake is on the rise, thanks in part to last season's record rainfall and declining groundwater use.
But it doesn't diminish lingering concerns after the lake dropped more than six feet in 2013 -- to the lowest level ever recorded.
The drop left docks high and dry, closing beaches and frightening homeowners.
Now, plans are in the works for a solution, so it doesn't happen again. It would require a number of approvals and tens of millions in state funding.
On Thursday, stakeholders got a first look.
The plan would involve a 24-inch pipeline that would pump water from nearby East Vadnais Lake, which is about four miles away.
The pipeline would put one-to-two billion gallons of freshwater into White Bear Lake each year.
The current estimate is that the project would cost roughly $45 million to build. Lawmakers would have to sign off on it.
If approved and funded, the earliest water would flow would be 8 years from now.
For now, folks are just happy their lake is turning around.
