Lambert Creek Weirs

• Watershed Management

• Lambert Creek

This effort, completed in 1993 and 1994, was VLAWMO's first major renovation of Lambert Creek. It continues to be a valuable asset for downstream properties. 

Grass and Rice Lakes are technically wetlands that are casually referred to as lakes.

Both structures were built using VLAWMO capital improvement funds with support from grants from Ducks Unlimited and Minnesota Clean Water Partnership. 

Lambert Creek, also known as County Ditch 14, was originally built as an agricultural ditch. Decades later, the creek faces new pressures in the form of increased stormwater runoff resulting from development. While the former ditch strived to usher water downstream, the weirs provide a counter balance to restore surface water storage in the existing Rice and Grass Lake wetland areas. 

• Studies were completed to increase the holding capacity of the wetlands while still keeping the water level below a desired level for adjacent properties. 
• The two weirs provided a foundation for two more additional efforts at downstream Lambert Lake and upstream Whitaker Pond.

• Increased space for sediment and nutrients to settle out and be incorporated into wetland ecosystems, protecting downstream waterbodies. 
• The effort won the North American Lake Management Society (NALMS) Appreciation Award in 1993.