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Barron News Shieldhome : news : news : top stories
Development bad news for Red Cedar River
By:Eric Quade 06/25/2006
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Some landowners on the outskirts of southern Rice Lake are at odds with engineers and conservationists as to the best way to manage the area's runoff, which has been blamed for the formation of a large gully that dumped sediment into the Red Cedar River.

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Engineers for the City of Rice Lake have recommended that a drainage waterway that flows along the neighboring property lines of Jim Smith and Hugh Mommsen should be cleared of trees, widened and armored in order to minimize the chance of further erosion. The engineering firm also recommended that storm water detention basins should be installed on the Willard Gustafson and Barta family properties.

None of these landowners have agreed to cooperate with the recommended plans thus far, according to an issue paper prepared by Barron County conservationist Dale Hanson.

Hanson said it is important for all of the affected parties to come to an agreement, so that the quality of the Red Cedar River can be protected. An estimated 1,200 cubic yards of topsoil, sand and gravel washed out into the river when the gully first formed in March 2005. The gully more than doubled in size last October after storms dropped more than 10 inches of rain in a short time period.

The Soil and Water Conservation Department became involved in order to protect the river and to help the Smith family with the gully that has formed behind their house, Hanson said. But there is disagreement about how to meet those two goals.

"Every step of the way, the Smiths have indicated they would not go along with what was being recommended by professional engineers and conservationists," Hanson said.

Many of the affected property owners contend that they should not have to pay for runoff management, since it wasn't a problem before large-scale commercial development, such as Wal-Mart and Menards, started cropping up next to their fields.

Jim Smith said he was asked to lease 1.5 acres of the drainage ditch to the City of Rice Lake for 10 years at $75 a year so engineers could modify the watershed, but he isn't interested in selling the land for $750.
It's not their land to widen, and it's a runoff problem of their own creation, he said.

Hugh Mommsen said the landowners being asked to sell land for runoff control aren't significant contributors to the runoff problem, which he attributed to increased development near the intersections of Hwy. 53 and Cty. O. He credited Menards of Rice Lake, though, for installing a drainage pond that adequately compensates for the rain that flows off their parking lots and rooftops.

Both Mommsen and Smith suggested an alternative that would keep private property out of the drainage equation-divert the runoff along Cty. O.
Mommsen said engineers had at one time proposed draining water along the ditch of Cty. O, but he hasn't heard anything more about that alternative.
The alternative costs more, Smith said, but it would use publicly owned easements instead of private land.

The gully issue opened into discussion at the June 15 Barron County Executive Committee meeting.

County Administrator Duane Hebert said the county's initial intent for involvement was to facilitate all of the parties coming together to find a solution to the drainage problem. What appeared to be a cooperative effort at first, quickly became an uncooperative situation when property owners began objecting to what was being proposed.

"Dale Hanson's recommendation is that unless the property owners are willing to admit to being actively involved in resolving this issue, then there really is no reason for the county to continue to be involved unless everyone is playing the game, for lack of a better term," Hebert said.

A draft resolution created by the City of Rice Lake seeks $7,203.81 from the county to pay part of an engineering bill and also seeks support in applying for state funds that could be used for storm water management in the gully area.

Hanson advised the county to not sign on to the resolution "until all parties agree that the project would go forward as recommended by professionals." He also specified that Smith and Mommsen should sign the resolution before the county signs on.


©Barron News Shield 2006
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