Each fall, the Saint Paul Regional Water Services (SPRWS) conducts routine maintenance on the infrastructure leading up to Vadnais Lake. This includes the conduits from the Mississippi (in Fridley), Charley Lake, Pleasant Lake, Sucker Lake, and Vadnais, as well as the channels and conduits that lead to the treatment plant on Rice Street near Lake McCarrons.  Because the public water demand is lower in the fall, the SPRWS uses this as a strategic time to lower the water levels for maintenance, while still providing adequate supply. One reason why water demand is lower in the fall is because of the lack of lawn watering. 

This year, two projects in addition to routine maintenance and conduit cleaning have kept the water levels down a little longer than usual.

One project was removing zebra mussels that pile up so extensively they actually block the flow of water into Sucker Lake. For a look at this project, see our zebra mussel video here. 

The second project is to restore the shoreline of the Sucker Lake channel, just south of Hwy 96 in Vadnais/Sucker Lake Park. Because the shoreline previously lacked a vegetative buffer between land and water, sediment and nutrients were being washed into the lake in addition to the shoreline being degraded over time. To preserve this popular fishing destination and support clean water on the front-end of the drinking water facility, the shoreline project will include native plants, new rock installments, buried logs made from natural materials, and a new walking path. For more on this project, click here. 

Water levels will fluctuate throughout the winter and be back to average in Spring, 2018.