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DRAFT <br /> <br />Introduction <br /> <br />A. BACKGROUND INFORMATION <br /> <br />Lake Orono is a 254 acre lake with a mean depth of approximately 5 feet. Lake Orono is also <br />identified as Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Protected Water 71-13P. The <br />lake was created when the Elk River Dam was constructed in 1915. The Elk River Dam is <br />located approximately 1.1 miles above the confluence of the Elk River with the Mississippi <br />River, in the City of Elk River, Sherbume County, Minnesota (Figure 1). Drainage from the <br />388,000-acre Elk River watershed flows through Lake Orono, dominating the lakes water quality <br />(Figure 2). <br /> <br />B. SCOPE OF INVESTIGATION <br /> <br />The City of Elk River hired Wenck Associates, Inc. in June 1996 to perform a sedimentation <br />study for Lake Orono. The study is a cooperative effort with Sherburne County and the Lake <br />Orono Improvement Association. The scope of the project included review of the watershed and <br />development and implementation of a monitoring plan. Major inflows and the outflow from <br />Lake Orono were monitored 18 times over a one year period, and sediment and phosphorus loads <br />were calculated for these. Minor inflows to Lake Orono were monitored during three storm <br />events. Lake sediment was sampled and chemical and physical analyses performed. Lake Orono <br />was remapped by the DNR in 1996 and lake volume comparisons were made with a map <br />prepared by the DNR in 1970. Additional lake and river monitoring was also conducted for fecal <br />coliform and fecal streptococci contamination. The monitoring, analysis and findings of the <br /> <br />N:\0598\01 LELKRIVE1LRPT-rlb 1 <br /> <br /> <br />