Comments flow about Spring Creek proposal

By Ryan Woodard, Journal Staff Writer | Thursday, November 30, 2006

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JOHNSON SIDING — Partly emptying Sheridan Lake to restore flow to Spring Creek requires maintaining a delicate balance.

“We don’t want to compromise something we know we have for something that we might get,” Department of Game, Fish & Parks senior biologist Ron Koth said at a meeting Tuesday night at Rimrock Community Center.

GF&P and forest service officials called the meeting, which was open to the public, so citizens could voice concerns about the possible project.

About 75 people, many of them very vocal, showed up to speak their opinions about letting the GF&P release 5 cubic feet per second from the Sheridan Lake dam into Spring Creek, dropping the lake a maximum 2 feet at any given time.

Koth said that the idea arose again recently — after stalling for years — when the forest service installed a new valve on the dam that would allow it to be drawn down.

The original valve had quit functioning between 2000 and 2001.

Now that it is functioning again, Koth said, doing something about Spring Creek is possible but not certain.

“We don’t really have a plan; we just have a concept. We want to try to use some water out of Sheridan Lake to increase the visibility of the Spring Creek fishery, a very highly utilized resource when we’ve got water.”

Many in the audience were concerned about lowering Sheridan Lake — which is nearly full, in contrast to other nearby bodies of water such as Pactola and Angostora reservoirs — at all.

Keith Parker of Rapid City said that although he has grown up fishing in the area, he doesn’t want to risk improving the fishing if it would sacrifice recreational opportunities on Sheridan Lake.

“My concern is, Sheridan Lake is the only lake in reasonable driving distance where you can take a boat and not have to worry about running into sandbars, rocks, trees,” he said.

Koth assured citizens throughout the meeting that the process is far from final and that more studies must be conducted to determine its feasibility.

He said one aspect that may allow the GF&P to spare the 2 feet maximum drawdown would be to gain water from the Hill City wastewater-treatment plant.

Koth said the sewer plant will add “tertiary-treated” water at a rate that would add about 3 feet of water to the 383 acre lake.

“That’s going to make a big difference on how we might have water available to us in the future for supplying Spring Creek,” he said.

A few audience members questioned the quality of the Hill City water entering Sheridan Lake, but Koth said tertiary-treated water is “good quality water.”

Kenny Miller of Rapid City said that the GF&P shouldn’t consider lowering Sheridan Lake during times of drought.

“You couldn’t have picked a poorer time to do this. The water just isn’t there,” he said.

Ev Hoyt of Black Hills Flyfishers said the Flyfishers hope to get fishing back into Spring Creek but not at the expense of Sheridan Lake.

“Our approach at Black Hills Flyfishers is not to destroy Sheridan Lake or interfere with its uses,” he said. “Our hope is that from this meeting will come a working group or some informed group that can work on this project.”

Koth estimated the bulk of the project will cost about $300,000, with most of the money needed for marina slips.

Other improvements needed for the project include the lengthening of the north boat ramp in the lake by about 15 feet and extending of the south ramp about 20 feet.

“The north and south beaches — both of those lose about 30 feet of distance from their existing water surface edge if we would go down a maximum of 2 feet,” he said.

He said the lake would not be drawn dawn 2 feet every year but only when that much was needed.

The forest service and the GF&P are still in the information-gathering stage. A final proposal will be ready for review early next year.

Contact Ryan Woodard at 394-8412 or ryan.woodard@rapidcityjournal.com