SPIRIT LAKE – High lake water levels, saturated soil from heavy rains, and wave action are causing numerous banks on the Iowa’s Great Lakes to collapse into the water.
“Basically we are seeing landslides into the lakes,” said Mike Hawkins, fisheries biologist with the Iowa DNR. Hawkins said he has surveyed four shoreline collapses Thursday and Friday, including one homeowner who lost their boathouse into East Okoboji Lake. “We want lakeshore homeowners to contact the DNR as soon as they discover the bank collapse,” Hawkins said.
Steve Anderson, Urban Conservationist with the Iowa Department of Agriculture, says “After a bank collapse, exposed soil can easily erode into the lake. We can provide expertise to landowners to help control erosion and possibly divert flows away from the affected area.”
“This is another good reason to really observe the emergency 600 foot – 5 mph zone. Even outside the no-wake zone, be responsible for your wake,” Hawkins said. “Large boat wakes can make clean up difficult and are causing lakeshore damage.”|