Nearly a week after a mechanical failure led to millions of gallons of water dumping out of Alice Lake at William O'Brien State Park, Minnesota's Department of Natural Resources is trying to focus on the positive.

The state agency is also working to learn how other parks can prevent similar malfunctions.

A broken valve prevented park staff from closing a water control structure after they opened it hoping to drain excess rainwater. DNR staff says the part in question has a typical lifespan of 35 years – but the broken part at Lake Alice was more than 60 years old.

Other parks across the state currently have similar, aging infrastructure, according to DNR Visitor Services and Outreach Manager Rachel Hopper. Hopper says the DNR currently has an investment need of $19 million per year over a ten year span to address the backlog of deferred maintenance needs on the 1,500 water control structures throughout the state.

The DNR is not setting a timetable on when water could be back – but say they're meeting across the agency to discuss using this time to eradicate invasive weeds and replace them with native grasses – something that couldn't happen under nine feet of water. 

Staff are also working to create a plan to make any replacement "climate resilient" – as increased rainfall could pose more wear and tear on the system. 

 "It's an extremely unfortunate situation, what happened here, but it's an opportunity to step back, reset, and think about what we can create for the future that will be better," Hopper said. "The plan as of right now is to restore the lake."