Waseca closes beaches, lakes due to emergency wastewater discharge
The southern Minnesota city of Waseca has closed several beaches, boat ramps and bodies of water due to possible water contamination.
The city said Clear Lake, Rice Lake, Giater Lake, Watkins Lake, Moonan Marsh and Crane Creek are closed "until further notice."
The closures were caused by "emergency discharge of wastewater," the city said. Residents were warned that contact with the potentially contaminated water could be hazardous to health.
Heavy rainfall over the weekend overloaded the sewer system, prompting the discharge.
Kevin Bernhardt has lived in Waseca for 19 years and says the flooding is familiar.
"It seems like almost every year we have at least one 3 to 4 inch rain that closes down the beaches of the lake," Bernhardt said.
In a document submitted to the Minnesota Legislature, Waseca Mayor Randy Zimmerman said the city has dumped 37 million gallons of raw sewage into the environment over the last decade. The most recent such incident was in June, which sparked a closure that lasted three days.
"I think we'd all like to see it fixed, but realizing probably isn't going to happen real soon," Bernhardt said.
Waseca resident Patrick Klein says that, in the year he's owned his home, it's flooded seven times.
"All I'm asking is for them to figure out a solution to resolve the flooding issue. Because I bought this house, and I probably lost $100,000 on this house in a year on the property value, just because it's a known flood issue now," Klein said.
This isn't the only waste issue in Waseca. In April, the City Council gave approval to begin shooting cormorants on Loon Lake Island because the birds' droppings were destroying trees and plants. Three years ago, more than 100 Canada geese and 25 mallards were found dead on that same lake. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources theorized the birds were killed by a fungal infection.