(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Natural Resources Commission approved construction projects in Franklin, Cerro Gordo, and Poweshiek County at their recent meeting. Travis Baker of the D-N-R says one of the projects is replacing the lagoon wastewater treatment system at Beeds Lake State Park northwest of Hampton. “The lagoon can no longer meet discharge effluent limits, and so this project will convey wastewater to the City of Hampton by constructing a three-and-a-half mile long, four-inch P-V-C force main. In addition to that, work will include the construction of approximately 15-hundred feet of gravity sewer and a lift station,” he says.

The lagoon system services the park office, campground, and a 39-house subdivision located on the north side of the lake.  “The existing lagoons will be decommissioned. Involved in that decommissioning, the contract will be responsible for removing the sludge, treating that,” Baker says. The homes will be hooked into the system and eventually pay a rate for the sewer treatment. The project will cost around one-point-seven million dollars, and be completed in May of 2026.

The N-R-C approved improvements to the Clear Lake Campground in Cerro Gordo County. Baker says the campground was built in 1941 with 176 sites that were fairly close to each other. The upgrade will rebuild 61 sites. “And includes seven full hookup sites, with pull through 50 amp electric sites and 12 back in 50 amp electric sites. In addition, along with this project, we will have installed three new A-D-A accessible concrete sites,” he says. The work is expected to be completed in September of 2025.

Commissioners approved a clean up plan for Diamond Lake in Poweshiek County. “The  Lake was constructed in the 1950s and had the 20-thousand-672 acre watershed. The lake suffers from periodic algae blooms that lead to poor water clarity,” Baker says. “This project will clean out approximately 32-thousand cubic yards of deposited sediment to existing ponds. Well, it’s constructing new sediment pond.”

The D-N-R lake restoration fund will pay for 75 percent of the nearly 710-thousand dollar cost and the county will pay the rest. The work is expected to be completed in September of 2025.