News From the President's Chair
by Harlan Meints, President DLARA
1.
Yes! The board does read the comments returned with the dues forms. Each comment is looked at and acted upon if we are able to. A lot of the comments pertain to areas regulated by governmental agencies. We try to pass those items along. Please keep those comments and questions coming. They help the board know what areas to work on around the lake. Thank you for the many good comments, they are appreciated.
2.The Carp tournament was a big success. Look for article in this newsletter. DLARA spent less than $200 on the project and about 1 ton of carp were removed from the lake. An invitation was extended to the group to return as often a possible
3.WARNING!! REMINDER! PLEASE DON’T PUT ANYTHING EXCEPT TOILET PAPER IN THE SPETIC SYSTEM. THEY CAN PLUG UP THE GRINDER AND ALSO THE CHECK VALVES.
4.Enclosed in the newsletter is a step-by-step procedure to clean out your grinder tube. This is NOT required but is recommended by the GLSSWD especially if you are only at the lake a few time a year and your system is idle for 5 or 6 months at a time. If you can’t do the work any plumber should be able to do this. Any questions call 320-796-4523
5.REMINDER!! Dues are still only $25 and membership runs from Jan 1st of the year until Dec. 31st. A list of paid member will be included in the newsletter.
6.The Hubbard lake Chain Project is still in progress and an informational meeting by Ducks Unlimited will be held later this summer.
7.The two main items that came up in the dues comments were speed control around the lake and weed control on the lake. We will keep asking the county to help with the speeding issue.
8.DLARA chemically treated a 6.66 acre area near the east inlet in early June. Cost was $5,129. Our DNR grant covered $1,500 of this and DLARA paid $3,629. As you can see chemically treatment is very costly and only 15% of the lake can be treated per year. Treatment is not permanent and may need to be done every year. This was a trial run to see how it works to control the Curly-leaf Pondweed. We are also setting up a meeting with Nick Brown of the DNR to discuss cutting of the weeds. We’ll let residents know when meeting is to be held. If interested in attending please contact a board member. Cutting will involve a lot of time and effort as the weeds now have to be removed and hauled away by the cutters. Cost may be as much or more per acre as chemical treatment. There are no easy answers.
9.Dues on Green Lake are $100 and on Nest Lake $50. DLARA dues of $25 are a very good value to help maintain lake quality. Need to be a member to vote, run for office and partake in funded lake projects.
Missle Lane
Contrary to our wont (a great word, wont) we are not enclosing a second DUES letter-with-envelope insert. Quite a few paid up dues payers sent in a second subscription in response to the enclosure in our last issue, perhaps not recalling that they responded to the initial appeal in January, sent by separate mail – the duplicated payments were refunded. We changed our dues collection procedure this year to make dues a calendar, rather than spring-to-spring, event. We thank everyone who contributed. If you haven’t done so yet, please join the 222 who have and send your $25 payable to DLARA (Diamond Lake Area Recreational Assn.) to Diane Rivard, 14259 Breezy Pt. Rd, Atwater, MN 56209.
Our very reliable AIS (Aquatic Invasive Species) correspondent, Bonnie Nelson, notes that a few pennies in a half filled water baggie with keep flies and other bugs away. Apparently there is a sub-culture blog about this on the ‘net. She swears it works. I tried it on my front steps railing and haven’t seen my brother in law since. Just sayin’…..
The MFCRWD (remember the watershed district acronym?) tells us that there is still project funding for residential and other BMPSs (Best Management Practices), namely:
shoreline restoration, rain gardens, rain barrels, vegetative buffer strips, streamline stabilization, wetland restoration, and Ag BMPs. The district will cover 75% of the cost and DLARA may cover 10% more. For further information contact the watershed district at 320 796-0888.
Karen Fischer is a wonderful massage therapist operating out of her office in Atwater. She is available by appointment, M-F, at 320 295-3779.
The Fish Barrier Project is Completed
The “Fish Barrier” structure was installed in the Hubbard and Diamond Lake channel last November. That marked the completion of the project that began in the fall of 2010 with the initial funding for the engineering design. The Diamond Lake Recreational Association, The Middle Fork Crow River Watershed District, and The Department of Natural Resources were all involved in the project’s completion. Reiner Contracting, Inc. from Hutchinson Minnesota was the winning contract bidder on the project. The excavating and installation of the barrier in the channel between Hubbard and Diamond went smooth without any complications. The old, out of repair trap grates and structures were also removed from the channel. The new barrier can easily be seen from county road #137 by looking toward Diamond Lake as you drive over the channel bridge. From a distance the structure appears to be a large pile of rocks. The inner working design of the structure allows for water to pass through the in-bedded steel culverts. The unique design in these culverts, prevents adult size fish from migrating the channel between the lakes. This prevents adult carp from spawning in the small lakes and increasing the number of adult fish. The adult carp are responsible for destroying thousands of native plants in the small lake basins. These plants filter and improve the water quality as it enters Diamond Lake. The ultimate project success of the “Fish Barrier” will be measured in the future water quality improvement in Diamond Lake.
Grinder/Pump Station
Annual Cleaning & Inspection Routine
(Below are listed simple annual cleaning & inspection steps regarding sewer grinder/pump stations. It is suggested that these procedures take place especially before any long periods of station none use to insure proper operation when not being monitored more regularly.
1. Remove basin cover.
2. Open control panel, find auto, off, hand pump control operation switch, its one switch with three positions. Turn pump control switch to hand operation and pump station wastewater level down until about one half of the pump is visible, when completed place switch in off position. When turning the pump control switch to hand the alarm light should activate and the audible alarm should sound. If either fails, repair is needed. To silence the audible alarm hold your hand under the speaker underneath the panel. The alarm light will clear when the pump control switch is returned to the auto position.
3. Pull up the pump control floats and clean them, return the second and third floats from the top to their normal basin position. These are the pump start and stop floats. Now test the high water level alarm. First, hold the top most float, the high level alarm float, in a downward position, second, return pump control switch to auto position, third, tip float vertically upward, alarm light and horn should activate, if not, repair is needed. Return the top float to normal basin position.
4. Now utilizing a garden hose and nozzle, spray down station breaking up all material in basin. Be sure to also break up any sludge layer on the bottom of the basin. You will need to cycle the pump on and off during this procedure, not letting the pump run dry, if allowed to run dry it may air lock, meaning the pump will no longer pump water without additional action such as burping the air out of the pump. Note, if the basin contents are not typical of normal sewer usage, meaning the basin contains rags, famine hygiene products, sanitary wipes, diapers, cloth material, etc. you may want to consider having the basin commercially pumped out. This would eliminate the chance of plugging the pump with material not suitable for normal operation.
5. Continue cleaning and pumping until the basin appears relatively clean.
6. Now turn pump control switch back to original auto position.
7. While cleaning and after shut down, check for any possible pump pipe leakage, meaning water spraying while pumping or water filling back into station after shut down.
8. Now start filling the station with water until the pump starts. This should happen when the second float from the top tips up, discontinue filling and allow pump to pump down normally to the bottom float and stop.
9. If everything worked properly, reinstall basin cover.
10. Now inspect control panel and general installation. Look for moisture problems & any corrosion, make sure alarm light installation is water tight not allowing water to enter panel, caulk around light base if needed. Look for burnt wires, check door gasket, check panel post position, perform general overall visual inspection of the control panel. Check landscaping, basin cover needs to be above sod and soil sloped away from basin so water sheds away.
When performing this procedure and if difficulties arise, feel free to call the GLSSWD at 320-796-4523.
