The Meadow Lake Management Plan (MLMP) is a long term water quality improvement project coordinated by the Shingle Creek Watershed Management Commission in partnership with the City of New Hope. The project began with a winter drawdown of Meadow Lake, beginning in November 2021. Prior to the drawdown, water quality was measured for the entire year of 2021 to establish accurate base line data. A drawdown allows for mucky lake bottom sediment to be exposed to winter weather, which helps compact the sediment. In addition, a full drawdown typically impacts invasive fish populations, and possibly invasive plants as well. Following the drawdown, the lake naturally filled with snowmelt and precipitation in the spring of 2022. Routine water quality monitoring occurred throughout 2022 to learn how the lake was impacted by the drawdown.

The 2022 monitoring data revealed the drawdown was effective in eliminating the invasive fathead minnow population, and in consolidating the lake bottom sediment. However, the invasive plant curly-leaf pondweed population still was present, and phosphorus levels remained high in the lake. Based on the 2022 monitoring data the next steps in the MLMP were determined to be an alum treatment in spring 2023 to limit the release of phosphorus from the lake bottom sediments. Additionally an invasive curly-leaf pondweed herbicide treatment was applied in late spring 2023.

As the project moves forward, it is the Shingle Creek Watershed Management Commission and the City's goal to continue to thoroughly monitor Meadow Lake to ensure that the lake's functions are fully understood prior to any additional drawdown or chemical treatment.

Project Updates:

• November 12, 2024: Shingle Creek Watershed Management Commission monitoring staff will return in the spring of 2025 to continue water quality monitoring on Meadow Lake. This monitoring will help determine whether a curly leaf pondweed treatment is needed in the spring.  

Project Contact

If you have any questions about this project, please contact Shingle Creek Watershed Management Commission at 763.553.1144 or New Hope's Project Coordinator, Nick Macklem at [email protected] or 763.592.6765.