By Kari Lucin, staff writer

TWIN LAKES &045; A small stretch of land serving as an outlet for Lower Twin Lake is clogged with vegetation and fallen trees, and landowners whose fields flood are looking to three governmental bodies for help.

Because the outlet is a natural one, it has never been assessed as a part of the county ditch system, so Freeborn County has little power over the 900- or 1,000-foot stretch of land, and the Shell Rock River Watershed Board has even less influence.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has authority over natural waters, and in this case the DNR also owns the outlet and the dam. But the DNR may choose not to change the outlet because of its water management philosophy, the possibility of downstream flooding and a history of non-interference with the outlet channel.

&8220;Should the outlet channel be managed like an agricultural drainage ditch, where it is kept free of any roughness that might slow the water down, or should it be maintained as a natural area and provide the water quality functions you get with a natural marsh?&8221; said Jeanine Vorland, DNR area wildlife manager.

Vorland also noted the unusually large amount of rain that fell in April, adding &8220;The lake’s doing what it does naturally.&8221; If the DNR changes the outlet to let water escape faster, upstream land will escape flooding, but areas downstream may end up with all the excess water.

&8220;We continue to pour water into these lakes faster and faster through our land use practices,&8221; Vorland said. &8220;A lot of times, you hope the water runs off.&8221;

The DNR initially was prohibited from changing the outlet channel when the dam was put in, and now the area serves as a marshy wildlife habitat.

Landowner Herb Schewe asked the watershed board and the Freeborn County commissioners to find a way to get the channel cleared.

&8220;We’ll help Mr. Schewe pursue the permit to maintain the outlet; however, the cost will have to be to those benefited upstream,&8221; said watershed Administrator Brett Behnke. &8220;There would have to be a private sector or a private organization that would have to fund the project.&8221;

One possible solution to the problem is bringing the outlet into the county ditch system when the nearby ditch system gets reassessed.

But Schewe would be content with removing the debris in the outlet.

&8220;We’re not asking for any deepening or widening, or any change in elevation,&8221; Schewe said. &8220;We’d

like to see whose responsibility is that when it gets full? Whose responsibility is it to get in there? Where do we go from here?&8221;

(Contact Kari Lucin at kari.lucin@albertleatribune.com or 379-3444.)