DNR and Houston Engineering present Pomme de Terre/Perkins Lake restoration plan; homeowners raise water-level concerns

Stevens County commissioners heard a multi-agency presentation on an engineered restoration plan for Christie/Perkins Lake and connected reaches of the Pomme de Terre River that would include rock-arch rapids, dredging to deepen a pool by about 4–5 feet, and using dredged material on-site to build floodplain-grade green space.

The presentation, led by Sofia, Palm de Terre River Association watershed coordinator, and supported by Ted Rood, engineer with Houston Engineering, and Minnesota Department of Natural Resources staff Neil Hoggerud (river ecologist) and Mike Kelly (clean water specialist), explained the project design, permitting path and operation during construction. "Everything that's new is on our website," Sofia said, pointing the board to online drawings, data and links to background studies.

Why it matters: presenters said the design aims to improve fish passage, reduce sedimentation in the downstream pool and create more stable habitat and recreational shoreline while keeping a lake in place. The project holds a $2,500,000 grant and project leaders said the funding is flexible because the work ranks high for aquatic-organism passage in the Minnesota River Basin.

Houston Engineering described the build sequence under a controlled drawdown: notch the existing dam, slowly draw down the reservoir (likely about a month), perform construction in drier months and create a roughly 4–5 foot deep pool where dredging is proposed. Rood described moving and grading material to form a horseshoe-shaped deeper pool and using that material to construct adjacent higher-elevation green space. "That material is what we would be using then to kind of build up the bank and the areas adjacent," Rood said.

Permitting and environmental review: project staff said the work will require an Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW) and permits from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Mike Kelly said keeping dredged material on-site was suggested by the DNR to avoid moving potentially different soils or species off-site, but that core sampling will determine whether material can remain or must go to landfill. "When we go through this permitting process, we'll have to take three different core samples," Sofia said; those results will determine allowable reuse.

Homeowner concerns: multiple lakeshore residents urged the DNR and engineers to preserve current lake elevations. Brian Tolleson, who identified himself as a Perkins Lake homeowner, said he understood the runout elevation had previously been raised by stop logs and that the proposed rock-ramp design would include a low-flow channel that could be up to 0.6 foot lower than stop logs now in place. He said the changes could lower usable water depth: "The structure will lower the lake an additional 6 tenths of a foot, which is a little over 7 inches... I know Bob addressed this at the February 4 meeting and was told that the elevation wasn't going to change, at least significantly. And I think 14 inches is significant." (Tolleson later clarified model outputs.)

Responding to residents: Neil Hoggerud and Rood said the project's hydraulic rating-curve modeling indicates that under normal and many low-flow conditions the proposed structure would not measurably lower lake elevations and that, in modeled low-flow tests, the lake elevation at a 33 cfs flow would be roughly unchanged (the model showed a 0.02-foot difference at that low-flow point). Rood also said part of the rock-ramp crest would be built above the current authorized runout elevation so normal flows should look similar to current conditions. "Under normal flow conditions, the lake elevation would not change with the current hydraulics that we've modeled," he said, adding that very dry-year and groundwater interactions make long-term prediction harder.

Ice and structure durability: presenters addressed concerns about ice movement and stability. Rood said the rock-arch rapids use large boulders (about 4–5 feet in diameter at the crest) and that in comparable projects his team has not observed movement of those boulders; if adjustments are necessary the riprap can be reconfigured in follow-up work.

Public engagement and next steps: staff said the project team mailed letters to shoreline landowners and planned additional public meetings. Sofia said a joint Grant County public meeting was being scheduled for early May and that a Stevens County meeting near the lakeshore was being planned for May 8 in the Perkins Lake Association meeting space; the presenters agreed to follow up with county staff so commissioners would be notified when the permit comment period opens. "We've started planning this yesterday," Sofia said of the outreach; she later asked commissioners to confirm whether May 8 in Stevens County would work for a local meeting.

Project costs and funding: Sofia said the project grant award was $2,500,000 and that the funder considers the project a high priority; presenters said additional funding flexibility likely exists if more money is needed.

What remains unresolved: residents pressed for a clear schedule and for Stevens County-based public meetings given the number of Stevens County homeowners affected. Presenters said the EAW process and permit postings will include a 30-day public comment window once posted and that final permitting determinations (including whether dredged material may remain on-site) will depend on core-sample results.

Next steps noted to the board included completing modeling for the EAW, finalizing permit submittals to MPCA and the Army Corps, scheduling a Stevens County public meeting and circulating specific permit comment dates as soon as they are known.

"If the comment period is open then on the Pomme De Terre Dam?" a commissioner asked. Project staff said they would try to confirm dates and get them to county staff and the lake association.