Chapter 4: Affected Environment - Aitkin County Government

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Table 4.1 Reservoir area flooded.Reservoir Original LakeArea (sq. mi.)Current LakeArea (sq. mi.)Area Flooded(sq. mi.)YearBuiltWinnibigoshish 117 179 62 1881Leech Lake 173 251 78 1882Pokegama 24 35 11 1882Sandy Lake 8 17 9 1891Pine River 18 24 6 1883Gull Lake 20 21 1 19114.1.1 Lake BemidjiLake Bemidji, the northernmost lake feeding the Mississippi River, is a glacially-formedlake approximately 11 square miles in area (6,420 acres) with a maximum depth of 76feet. It is located less than 50 miles downstream from the source of the MississippiRiver and both receives and is drained by the Mississippi River. More than 396,000acres of the Upper Mississippi River watershed drain into Lake Bemidji. The city ofBemidji sits on its southwestern shore. Bemidji’s population was 11,917 at the 2000Census.Stump Lake Hydropower Dam is on the Mississippi River upstream from Knutson Damand 5 miles below Lake Bemidji. It impounds a small lake, Stump Lake, but has theeffect of regulating the water level on the much larger Lake Bemidji.The dam was built in 1907 by the Warfield Electric Company to provide electricity to thecity of Bemidji. At that time, the average electrical customer used the equivalent of onelight bulb worth of power. Today, the dam represents less than 1 percent of theelectrical power used in the service area. The original customers were a group of 14wood product factories located in Bemidji. The dam was purchased in 1944 from theInterstate Power Company by the Otter Tail Power Company. As a result, this dam isoften called the Otter Tail Power Dam.This hydropower dam does not fall under the jurisdiction of the Federal EnergyRegulatory Commission (FERC). It was constructed and is operated based on an act ofCongress. The act can be found in the Laws of the United States, 62nd Congress, 3rdSession, House of Representatives, Document No. 1491, Chapter 1474. The Corps hadapproval authority over the plans for the dam. The coordination of operations betweenLake Winnibigoshish Dam and Stump Lake Dam is done on an as needed basis.4.1.2 Cass LakeCass Lake is located in Beltrami County. The lake is over 15,000 acres; over 3,000acres of the lake are less than 15 feet deep while the deepest part of the lake is 120feet. There are nine lakes on the Cass Lake Chain that are connected by the MississippiRiver. The lakes in the chain include Big Wolf Lake, Lake Andrusia, Cass Lake, PikeBay, Buck Lake, Kitchi Lake, Anderson Lake, Little Rice Lake and Big Rice Lake. Thelake water levels are affected by the operation of two dams on the Mississippi River.Otter Tail Power Company operates a dam upstream, just below Stump Lake. At theCass Lake outlet is Knutson Dam.Headwaters ROPE Study 21
Knutson Dam was built as a logging dam in the 1890’s and was rebuilt by the Corps in1928. The dam was then turned over to the Forest Service. It is one of very few damsthat are managed by the Forest Service. The city of Cass Lake sits on its southernshore. Cass Lake’s population was 860 at the 2000 Census.Knutson Dam is owned and operated by the Forest Service. It is located aboveWinnibigoshish reservoir at the outlet of Cass Lake. This dam is normally operated tokeep levels in Cass Lake and its tributaries at a higher elevation than levels in LakeWinnibigoshish. The gate sill at Knutson Dam is at approximately elevation 1297.0 feet(+ 0.2 foot) which compares to a normal pool elevation on Winnibigoshish of 1298.19feet. So, water levels in Lake Winnibigoshish always influence Knutson Dam dischargesto some degree. The crest of the overflow spillways at Knutson Dam are atapproximately elevation 1301.5 feet (+ 0.2 foot). When the Winnibigoshish poolapproaches this elevation, Knutson Dam becomes submerged, and Cass Lake levelsare controlled to a greater degree by Lake Winnibigoshish Dam. The upper and loweroperating elevations at Knutson Dam are 1302.25 feet and 1300.25 feet, respectively.Normal summer pool is between elevation 1301.43 and 1302.25 feet. The coordinationof operations between Lake Winnibigoshish Dam and Knutson Dam is done on an asneeded basis.Table 4.1.2Lakes Affected by Knutson Dam Operation1. Cass Lake2. Big Wolf Lake (1)3. Lake Andrusia (1)4. Pike Bay5. Buck Lake6. Kitchi Lake7. Anderson Lake8. Little Rice Lake9. Big Rice Lake1. These lakes can be impacted significantly by outflows from Stump Lake Dam. Water surfaceelevations can rise dramatically if the gates of Stump Lake Dam are opened to pass high flows fromLake Bemidji. Stump Lake Dam is operated to keep Lake Bemidji from rising more than 0.5 feet forlarge inflow events.NOTE: Names of all lakes in this list were taken from the original flowage system survey maps.Changes in name and spelling may have occurred over the years.4.1.3 Lake WinnibigoshishThe original wooden Lake Winnibigoshish Dam was started in 1881 and finished in 1884to regulate the flow of water on the Upper Mississippi River. A constant flow wasdesired by loggers, fur traders, and millers downstream at St. Anthony Falls. It wasreplaced with a concrete dam in 1899 to 1900. This was the first major reservoir built onthe Mississippi River.Headwaters ROPE Study 22
Page 1: CHAPTER 4.AFFECTED ENVIRONMENTThe a
Page 5 and 6: Table 4.1.3Lakes Affected by Lake W
Page 7 and 8: Table 4.1.5Lakes Affected by Pokega
Page 9 and 10: Winnibigoshish Lake provide the pri
Page 11 and 12: Itasca State Park in Clearwater Cou
Page 13 and 14: Table 4.1.10Rivers Impacted by Rese
Page 15 and 16: River (Carlson 1990) to assess view
Page 17 and 18: Table 4.2.3.b. Upper Mississippi Ba
Page 19 and 20: 100%65 Years of Age & Over90%11.42%
Page 21 and 22: 100%90%80%70%60%50%40%30%Two or mor
Page 23 and 24: LocationWrightWashingtonWadenaToddS
Page 25 and 26: LocationWrightWashingtonWadenaToddS
Page 27 and 28: Table 4.2.5.a. Educational Attainme
Page 29 and 30: Economic Information System (REIS),
Page 31 and 32: The Aitkin diversion channel was co
Page 33 and 34: 4.2.10 AgricultureIn 1992, the Stat
Page 35 and 36: The study found that in total, trav
Page 37 and 38: Table 4.2.11.c. Total Economic Impa
Page 39 and 40: Mississippi River. With the arrival
Page 41 and 42: located both above and below the cu
Page 43 and 44: It is realized that to some degree
Page 45 and 46: Figure 4.4.2. Surface Geology of Mi
Page 47 and 48: Unfortunately, many of the changes
Page 49 and 50: 4.4.5 Aquatic HabitatTable 4.4.5.a.
Page 51 and 52: The challenge to maintain and prote
Page 53 and 54:
portion of the study area are liste
Page 55 and 56:
Figure 4.4.9.bHeadwaters ROPE Study
Page 57 and 58:
upstream migration of mussels. Nine
Page 59 and 60:
study area and nests on the water
Page 61:
Since the late 1930’s, the operat
show all

Chapter 4: Affected Environment - Aitkin County Government

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?