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FAIRMONT-- The Fairmont Lakes Management committee on Tuesday went over considerations for 2027 including timelines for applications, Curly Leaf Pondweed (CLP) harvesting and the possibility of chemical application to treat the lakes.
First, the group talked about a 2027 aquatic vegetation delineation.
Fairmont Water Resources Coordinator, Hannah Neusch, said,"The DNR requires that there is a delineation done and submitted prior to any management."
Previously, she said Martin Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) covered the cost with a grant but that grant is no longer available. She thought last year it costed about $5,000 but said there might be a price increase.
Member Jon Omvig asked if the whole lake would need to be delineated or just the parts that management is proposed and Dr. Ryan Wersal, an aquatic weed scientist with Minnesota State University-Mankato, explained that lakes are delineated by the littoral zone. He said in Fairmont it would be from the shoreline about five to 10 feet out to the depth contour.
Speaking about the importance of the delineation being done, Wersal said, "When Hannah or the city goes out to apply for a permit, they're going to want to know how many total acres of curly leaf is out there because depending on the management strategy that is chosen, you get a certain percentage of that total average for what you can manage."
Omvig also asked about the Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) grant application, which he said opens soon through the DNR.
"I believe delineations and other management strategies are included and I thought that this year, there's more emphasis on curly leaf than there has been in the past," Omvig said.
Neusch agreed that CLP is an emphasis but that starry stonewort, which is not in the chain of lakes, is also a focus.
Wersal chimed in and said that the DNR has been trying to prioritize lakes in greater Minnesota, outside of the metro, and while starry stonewort is not here, he said that CLP is on the DNR's radar and that he thought the AIS grant funds could be used to pay for delineation.
Neusch said it sounded to her like it would be good to apply for the AIS grant to help pay for the delineation but that they would likely need to bring it to council first.
"Either way we do need to move forward with delineation if we want to manage Curly Leaf Pondweed next year in the lakes," Neusch said.
She asked whether the group wanted to move forward with CLP management and both Omvig and council liaison Britney Kawecki agreed that they wanted to continue to address CLP.
Kawecki asked when the delineation would be done and Wersal said it would likely be done at the end of April to make sure that the ice is gone and also that the aquatic plants are long enough to be raked.
"It seems like every year that timeline is moving up earlier and earlier because the water is warming up earlier and earlier," Wersal said.
He said that if chemical treatment is being applied, the DNR has water temperature guidelines for when management has to take place, so water temperatures are monitored.
Switching to another matter, the group talked about the work done with Premier Lake Harvesting, which first did mechanical harvesting of CLP on the lake this past summer.
Neusch said that the city spent $174,000 for Premier Lake Harvesting. She said that the company is interested in coming back next year and would do so for the same price for a multi-year contract.
"I wanted to bring this to the group to discuss it," Neusch said.
However, she also wanted to broach the topic of chemical treatment.
"The details of mechanical harvesting, it cannot exceed 50 percent of the littoral area, which is essentially what we did. We did not exceed it but we did as much as we could. If we only did chemical treatment, it wouldn't be able to exceed 15 percent of the littoral area on each lake," Neusch said.
If a combination of mechanical and chemical was done, she said they wouldn't be able to exceed 50 percent of the littoral area.
Speaking about the mechanical harvesting done, Omvig said, "They harvested a huge area maybe twice and the result was not much. I mean, they got a ton of weight, a ton of volume, but from an observation standpoint, you really didn't see much of a cosmetic reduction in curly leaf."
Omvig said, with that in mind, they should harvest a smaller area with tighter boundaries at docks, piers and boat landings and see if they can increase the repetition.
On the topic of harvesting, he also asked Wersal whether hand removal would be a viable option and whether it would be more effective than mechanical harvesting.
"I think in shallower waters, hand pulling can be very effective. What you gain with a harvester is they can go down in deeper water and cut deeper," Wersal said.
He suggested a volunteer day when people are asked to come and help pull CLP. Neusch said that's something she could look into setting up.
Going back to the topic of treating the lakes with an herbicide, Omvig acknowledged the percentage of the littoral area that could be treated per lake, which was said to be 15 percent. He asked Wersal what percent of CLP is in the littoral area in Sisseton and George lakes.
Wersal said there is about 65 to 70 acres of CLP on Sisseton and about 40 acres of CLP on George, which is about 50 percent of the total lake area, but said he hasn't calculated the littoral zones.
"If herbicides were a consideration and we looked at Sisseton and George because they're downstream... we have a 15 percent limit. How much of each of those lakes could be treated and what would the priority areas be?" Omvig asked.
He suggested the east side of both lakes, because of the parks. He also thought the area by the dam on George would be the lowest priority for removal as there's not much activity in that area.
Looking at the timeline for both chemical treatment and delineation, Neusch said she would talk to the DNR and the Minnesota Department of Health, as it will need to be involved in the decision as well.
Returning to her original question, Neusch asked how the group felt about a multi-year contract with Premier Lake Harvesting. Kawecki said she would like a review to be done and that she was confused with how the billing worked as it was done in phases.
Omvig said he would opt for a single year contract, but acknowledged a multi-year contract would likely have a better price. He also felt it was worth looking more into hand pulling.
Next the group briefly recapped the CLP curbside and dockside pick-up that has been offered the past two years by Waters Edge. Neusch said last year there was a minimum rate of $250 and $40 per household by road and $65 per household by dock.
"It was a pretty popular service," Neusch said. "In 2026 there were 54 curb pick-ups and 124 dock pick-ups."
She said she has contacted them and that they're interested in offering the service through the city again this coming year.
"I think it's a good service," Kawecki said.
Finally, water quality testing by Minnesota State University-Mankato was touched on. This past summer university students did testing on the lakes, under the guidance of Wersal, at a cost of $25,000. Neusch asked whether that should be continued with the possibility of adding Cyanobacteria testing.
Speaking to what his team all did for testing, Wersal said, "We did temperature profiles, dissolved oxygen profiles, PH profiles, nitrates, phosphates, Chlorophyl A profiles..."
Kawecki said she felt it was important to look at what the water treatment plant and also the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) tests so that there aren't a lot of duplicated tests being done.
"I think all the water quality tests are important but I just don't want to duplicate tests that are being done," she said.