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by Sue Orsen There are many lakes in Victoria, at least a dozen, so when record rain hits as it did this June, there is a lot of high water in Victoria. According to Elaine Williams, a resident on 78th Street, and her rain gauge, Victoria received 12.7 inches of rain as of June 27th. The actual number of lakes in Victoria has increased over the years as township properties are annexed into the City of Victoria. For example, part of Lake Auburn was annexed in 1977. Lake Zumbra arrived with the 1981 annexation. Lake Wasserman came in 1987 along with Deer Run, Carl Krey Lake in 2005. As development continues and properties need municipal water and sewer services, other lakes will likely become part of Victoria, like Pierson Lake. Pierson Lake happens to be the headwaters of the Six Mile Creek, which is actually 11 miles long. Lakes flowing into Six Mile Creek include Carl Krey Lake, Church Lake, Crosby Lake, Stieger Lake, Stone Lake, Sunny Lake, Turbid Lake, and Lake Zumbra. Water in the Six Mile Creek flows, in this order, through Marsh Lake, Lake Wasserman, Lake Auburn, Lunsten Lake, Parley Lake, Mud Lake, and then into Lake Minnetonka at Halsted's Bay. Some lakes lie only partially within the city limits of Victoria -- like Lake Minnetonka, which set an all-time record lake level of 931.11 feet above sea level on June 23rd -- and that's with 300 cubic feet of water being discharged per second at the Gray's Bay Dam. Even with normal conditions for the rest of the season, Lake Minnetonka won't return to its normal elevation until nearly September. From Gray's Bay on Lake Minnetonka, the water flows into Minnehaha Creek. On June 19th, Minnehaha Creek was so high it couldn't be electronically measured. To continue this geography lesson, Minnehaha Creek winds through the cities of Minnetonka, Hopkins, St. Louis Park, Edina, and Minneapolis where it falls into the Mississippi River at Minnehaha Falls. The Mississippi River is at major flood stage. I visited many Victoria lakes in June. Each of them experiences high water issues. Docks were under water everywhere. Carp were flipping into backyard lawns. Basements were taking on water. Said Kurt Zuppke, a resident on Pierson Lake, "My basement took on water after both of the major June rain storms. Fortunately, there was no damage to speak of. A lot of people I've talked with have had water problems. I know that Carver County put a no-wake order on some of the lakes in Carver County." Said Gail Berger, a resident on Lake Wasserman, "We are well and dry in the Blessing House, but the south winds blew waves of water at us so that the dock was covered and the sod was close to being engulfed. There was a lot of fish action on the lawn." Victoria Mayor Tom O'Connor contacted the Gazette back on June 3rd, reporting, "The Lake Zumbra neighborhood is having significant issues with rising water from the lake. I just got back from there. Public Works is bringing 2,000 sandbags and sand to help. The lake is higher than ever according to residents." It only went downhill from there. No one knew on June 1st, when Victoria received 4 inches of rain, that we'd see several more days of measurable rain including 5.1 inches on the 19th, making June 2014 the wettest spring on record. Rainfall next door in the Twin Cities in June 2014 broke the record of 11.67 inches set back in 1874. In 1874 the USA still hadn't celebrated the Centennial Anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
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The Victoria GAZETTE |
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July 2014 |
