Lack of Precipitation Causes Low Water Level in Minnehaha Creek

Lack of Precipitation, Not Road Construction, Causes Low Water Level at Minnehaha Creek

Construction on Hiawatha Avenue (Highway 55) through south Minneapolis has no impact on Minnehaha Creek. The creek is not, and will not be diverted at any time during the project. Low water levels in Lake Minnetonka, the source of Minnehaha Creek, are responsible for the diminished flow of water at Minnehaha Falls. The Twin Cities area, as of April 27th, has only received 4.12 inches of precipitation, compared with 8.36 inches during the same period last year. When the water level in Lake Minnetonka drops below 928.6 feet above sea level, the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District closes the dam which controls water flowing from the Lake. The lake level was at 928.26 feet last Friday.

If you had been visiting the creek and falls throughout the past twenty years, you would have noticed it slowed to a trickle many times, including several years during the 1980s. It is still too early to predict how the spring and summer will shape up for rain, but we definitely need more precipitation to green up the landscape and also lower the fire danger in Minnesota.

So the bottom line is we can't do anything about the falls and it's anyone's guess when it will increase...only Mother Nature knows for sure.

If you want some additional information on the creek and falls, visit the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District web site at http://www.minnehahacreek.org.

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