The Delavan Lake - Mound Road Ponds Project
The Mound Road Ponds are located within the Jackson Creek Wetland Complex and were constructed in 1992 to reduce sediment and nutrient loading to Delavan Lake and to contribute to the long-term protection of lake water quality. They were excavated to trap nutrients and to improve the overall pollutant filtering effectiveness of the wetland. These ponds collectively receive runoff from approximately 9,482 acres or 35.6 percent of the entire Delavan Lake watershed. Historical monitoring efforts by USGS have documented that a significant percentage of the sediment and nutrient loadings to Delavan Lake originate from the Jackson Creek watershed. Therefore, the Mound Road Ponds are ideally located to intercept a high percentage of the overall nutrient loadings and to provide water quality protection for the lake and downstream ecological resources such as the North Inlet. From 2004 to 2007, the Town of Delavan obtained permits from WDNR to dredge and excavate accumulated sediment from the East Pond and the North Pond to restore their nutrient trapping effectiveness and to protect Delavan Lake water quality. The West Pond was not dredged at that time since the sediment depths were not felt to be significant, most likely due to the smaller watershed drainage area. However, since the ponds were dredged, sediment has accumulated to the point where the ponds are not functioning as intended and require maintenance dredging. The Town is currently in the process of acquiring permits to perform ongoing maintenance dredging of the ponds in a cooperative effort with the Delavan Lake Sanitary District.
