2021 National Environmental Achievement Award in the Watershed Collaboration
Popular Recreation Destination Offers a Variety of Outdoor Activities
Since its creation in 1967, the 464-acre Easter Lake Park on the south side of Des Moines has been a popular outdoor recreation destination – often hosting over 400,000 visitors a year. Managed by the Polk County Conservation Board (PCCB), the park offers a range of amenities, including five picnic shelters, three playgrounds, volleyball courts, and multi-use trails. Additionally, the park supports a number of outdoor activities like geocaching, hiking, and bicycling. But perhaps the highlight of the park is the 178-acre lake. Stocked yearly by the PCCB, the lake draws anglers from around the region looking to catch bass, walleye, and catfish. A boat ramp provides access to the lake for fishermen and recreational boaters alike. Easter Lake is also the perfect location for canoeing and kayaking on its calm, no-wake waters. During the summer, a swimming beach is open on the lake’s north side to round out the entertainment options.
Lake Receives “Impaired Waters” Designation Due to Poor Water Quality & Heavy Sedimentation
Unfortunately, throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, the lake struggled with diminishing water quality as residential development in the lake’s watershed increased. Issues such as poor water clarity, algal blooms, high phosphorus rates, and low oxygen concentrations led to Easter Lake being added to the State of Iowa’s “impaired waters” list. The sedimentation issues, along with increased shoreline erosion, decreased the lake’s size (both in area and volume). In addition, an increase of invasive fish populations resulted in a poor fishery, while the water clarity and quality issues led to health alerts being issued to swimmers on many occasions over the years. All of these issues resulted in Easter Lake not reaching its full potential as an outdoor enthusiast’s destination of choice.
The Birth of the Easter Lake Water Quality Management Plan
In response to these water quality problems, numerous stakeholders came together to develop the Easter Lake Water Quality Management Plan in 2012. Co-sponsored by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR), the City of Des Moines, and the PCCB, this 10-year plan resulted from the compilation of existing studies (performed by Iowa State University scientists and the Natural Resources Conservation Service) and consultant’s recommendations for structural and non-structural best management practices (BMPs). The goal of these studies was to advance methods to reduce the delivery of pollutants to the watershed, reduce stormwater runoff, and create a path for the renovation and restoration of Easter Lake as a vibrant recreation hub for Des Moines and the surrounding area. The Easter Lake Water Quality Management Plan would serve as the baseline for the design work performed by Snyder & Associates. Since the restoration project recommendations outlined in the plan were wide-ranging and involved numerous types of construction and expertise, our firm was hired to provide civil engineering services. Projects were divided into several phases that allowed for better contractor specialization to guide the project’s success. Core projects designed and planned by Snyder & Associates included:
This concept rendering shows proposed structural improvements to be completed for the Easter lake restoration project.
- New spillway design and fish-rearing pond improvements
- Creation of a lake drainage plan
- Sedimentation basin design and drainageway improvements
- Hydraulic dredging plan
- Stormwater wetland improvements
- Multi-use trail project design
- Lake-grading management and shoreline restoration design
- Fish habitat restoration
Extensive Environmental Permitting Required for Lake Improvements
Before work could begin on any of the Easter Lake projects, permits needed to be obtained from multiple agencies. Obtaining permits for a project of this size and scope is a project in itself. The process involves numerous environmental surveys, assessments, analyses, and documentation. Snyder & Associate’s environmental team performed all of the permitting work and provided all of the services necessary, including:
- Three wetland and stream delineations
- One biological assessment
- Three threatened & endangered species surveys
- Two bat habitat surveys
- Two cultural resources investigations
- Two alternatives analyses
- Three 404 permit application submittals through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)
Our environmental staff collaborated extensively with design engineers, the PCCB, the USACE, and the Iowa DNR in order to obtain the needed permits. Given the detailed level of engineering and environmental documentation we provided, most agencies were able to expedite their review and issuance of permits. One of the permit conditions included the purchase of wetland mitigation credits from a wetland mitigation bank. Our team diligently worked through this process to ensure all conditions were met.
