I have been asked why Albert Lea would want to spend so much money on our lakes. Some Albert Lea Tribune readers believe that no tax is justified and that we should not spend any taxpayer money on our community.

Most of us know that this is a ridiculous position. Cities, like businesses, cannot grow and prosper without reinvestment in infrastructure.

Other skeptics feel that our lakes will always be shallow, muddy, prairie lakes that will never become clean no matter what we do if we continue to farm and fertilize our lawns. As we have no intention of ceasing all farming and we seem to like green grass, they maintain that money spent on cleaning up the lakes is a waste.

Although we do not know what the city might set as their current priorities for our lakes this time, it might be useful to review what was proposed last year.

First of all, we proposed to replace both the dam on Fountain Lake and the crumbling dam on Albert Lea Lake with variable crest dams that would be wide enough to keep water fluctuations from eroding our shorelines and flooding East Main Street. They would also allow us to lower lake levels in the fall to reduce winter ice damage and provide more storage for snow melt and spring rains.

Another proposal was to take out that stupid little culvert under the road to Edgewater Park and replace it with an actual bridge such as we had in the recent past.

Not only would it look better but it would allow pontoon and other boats to transit this point.

As we contemplate the redevelopment of the Farmland site, we envisioned the creation of a river walk along the channel. This would require cleaning up the channel and we planned to build a transit way for boats between the lakes. Money was earmarked for this.

Dredging the west arm of Albert Lea Lake and all of the main body of Fountain Lake (including Edgewater Bay) will be an expensive proposition

but it must be done unless we are willing to see the lake silt up completely and be lost to us. Before we can do this, however, we have decided that we must find ways to reduce the amount of silt that enters the lakes every year.

Before dredging, we planned to improve sediment control, invest in shoreline stabilization, put storm water catch basins in storm drains, purchase storm water retention basins upstream, and take other measures to level out water bounce and hold silt away from the lakes.

This also means working on lakeshore banks that are crumbling into the lake basins.

Having done all of this, we can then consider dredging the lakes. We will get much more for our investment if we do not have to re-dredge the lakes every 30 years. We will also obtain clearer water and better fisheries. By holding silt back on the farms and keeping it from running into the lakes from parking lots, this will help. Removing fine silt from lake bottoms and deepening the lakes will also reduce turbidity from bow wakes of boats.

I still haven’t promised that that we will have clear, deepwater lakes in Albert Lea. The fact is, we will never have this. What we can have is prettier lakes with nicer lakeshores and more amenities for our people to enjoy. We can also have safer water for swimmers, skiers, and those who like to eat our game fish.

If you never wash your car and never change the oil, you will save money in the short run. If you don’t maintain your house or your production machinery, you know what will happen. How is it any different with the lakes? If we spend nothing for years on maintenance, then we ultimately will see a very large bill. What we are proposing is that the city and county realize that something, anything reasonable, must be begun now. If we reinvest in these wonderful resources on a regular basis, we can make them all that they can be.

Most of us realize how truly blessed we are in Albert Lea to have these lakes. Austin would &uot;kill&uot; to have them. We sometimes take them for granted but there seems to be a consensus in Albert Lea that we have been frittering around with the lakes for 70 years and haven’t really accomplished much. When is the best time to begin? How about now!

Tony Trow is an Albert Lea resident and president of Destination: Albert Lea. His column appears Mondays.