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Editor’s note: Information gathered from the South Hamilton Record-News, April 21, 2004 edition and the Little Wall Lake Restoration Fund brochure.
Little Wall Lake is a natural 258-acre lake just south of Jewell, Iowa. It offers fishing, boating, campsites, sand volleyball courts, and picnic areas.
The water level in this lake has dropped three to four feet below normal after a 2002 dredging project mistakenly sent water into farm tiles instead back into the lake. The low lake level has forced the Hamilton County Conservation to eliminate any useable beach area and remove public fishing docks.
The Little Wall Lake Homeowner's Association has pledged $20,000 to back a $35,000 loan to start a fund drive to raise money to increase the water level. The Hamilton County Conservation Department has purchased a pump to supply water at a rate of 2000 gallons per minute. The water is first pumped into a sedimentation basin to ensure environmental compliance for the lake water quality and fishery management. The water then flows to the lake as it passes through a filtering system.
Funds will cover the cost of the new pump, water lines, rough fish controls, and electricity to run the pump around the clock for two months. A new permanent pumping station will be established at a later date. The pump system is needed because, even with acerage rainfall, it would take years to fill the lake to normal levels. The watershed to the lake is very small, 0.65 acres of watershed per surface acre of lake (normal is 10-30 acres of watershed per surface acre of lake).
The homeowner's association has teamed up with the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation so donations are tax deductible. Contributions can be sent to the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, 505 5th Avenue, Suite 444, Des Moines, IA 50309. Make sure to note on the check that the donation is for the Little Wall Lake Project. More information can be obtained by calling Jeff Knutson at 515-827-5205.
The Central Iowa Water Garden Association contributed $800 to this restoration; this was the profit obtained from the plant sale in May.