The lake for which the southwest Iowa town of Carter Lake is named has become a useless body of water, according to the town’s mayor and he blames the Iowa D-N-R for the mess. Several years back, the agency spent almost six-million dollars to remove algae from the lake but the newly-clear water allowed plants to grow on the lake bottom, plants that now clog boat propellors. Mayor Gerald Waltrip is upset.

“My complaint is, you can’t use the lake, most people can’t use it,” Mayor Waltrip says. “Where I live, I have not had my boat in the water for…this is the fifth summer because of the seaweed around my dock area.” He says those who attempt to take their boats out on the lake do so at the risk of burning up their motors by getting the props tangled in the lake’s forest of weeds.

“Fishermen don’t even use it,” Waltrip says. “I used to have ten boats every day from 3:30 in the afternoon until dark with fishermen all the time. They loved it and they can’t do it anymore.” In trying to wipe out the algae — and a bad stench — he says the D-N-R may have done its job too well. Visitors can now see the bottom of the lake and the sun shines through the water, which caused the abundance of plants to grow.

“I’m not going to disagree that they didn’t make it cleaner or more clear,” Waltrip says, “but now, you’re to a point where 90% of the people that used to use the lake can’t use it.” Carter Lake, a town of about 38-hundred people, has two underwater vegetation harvesters but operating them is expensive. The situation is impacting the Carter Lake Ski Club, which is losing members and spending more money on weed control by its docks.

D-N-R officials say the lake is now good for fish and the main concern is water quality. The D-N-R says Carter Lake is evolving and the problem will eventually solve itself.

(Radio Iowa)