Minnesota state park lake still mostly empty after draining in August

Lake Alice in William O’Brien State Park drained in just a couple days in August, leaving piles of fish out of water.

Figuring out how to refill it is taking a lot longer.

So for now, beneath the snow, the 26-acre lake at the park near Scandia is more of a “light stream” than its usual manmade fishing hole — at least until the DNR sorts through the process of fixing the valve that got stuck open and allowed the water to drain through a berm.

Kelli Bruns, manager of the DNR’s Parks and Trails Resource and Asset Management, said there is no timeline for when the water will return to normal levels.

Experts are working on a plan to fix the broken valve, which is more than 60 years old. Then, the DNR will need to obtain necessary permits and get on contractors’ schedules.

“We’re doing everything appropriately, sustainably and trying to provide long term options for that area, so we don’t have to go back in and have a similar issue in the future,” she said.

The DNR will publicize the schedule once it has one to make sure the public knows of any limitations near Lake Alice.

Lake Alice, fed by groundwater, is manmade and was created in 1961 for children to fish. Twelve species of fish, including several types of sunfish, are typically found in the lake, which has a fishing dock.

After heavy July rainfall, the valve inside the earthen dam at Lake Alice was opened to drain some water into the nearby St. Croix River. The lake returned to a proper level, and park staff attempted to close the valve on Aug. 9.

But nothing happened. The valve had failed and the water kept flowing. It took less than three days for Lake Alice to disappear.

Visitors surprised by the suddenly empty lake raced to move floundering fish into the St. Croix River to save them. Bruns said the fish kill was “minimal” and no other wildlife in the park has been significantly affected.

Bruns said work on the valve is delayed at least until the ground thaws. Ice fishing is not an option at Lake Alice this winter, and it remains unclear whether the valve will be fixed in time for the spring fishing season.