Hiawatha Golf Course update
Posted on 27 January, 2016The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) is continuing its investigation of stormwater and groundwater conditions on Hiawatha Golf Course and the pumping of water from the golf course into Lake Hiawatha. In late November, the MPRB’s consultant installed monitoring devices at several locations on the golf course property to collect data related to groundwater conditions and to aid in measuring volumes of water pumped from the property into Lake Hiawatha. However, almost immediately upon installation of those devices Minneapolis experienced an unusual amount of rain, making the collection of truly representative data related to groundwater and stormwater data difficult. The MPRB’s consultant is using the data collected and “normalizing” it using historical records for rainfall and flows in Minnehaha Creek. Having sound data is critical in the calibration of groundwater and stormwater models that will demonstrate a range of scenarios with the pumps on or off.
Based on calculations performed by the MPRB’s consultants and using information from monitoring devices installed directly in the pumps, the MPRB believes the volume of water pumped from the golf course during monitoring to be generally aligned with information shared with the public last fall—which is representative of conditions when water levels in Lake Hiawatha are high.
In the last week, the MPRB’s consultant sampled water pumped from the golf course property into Lake Hiawatha. Analysis of the samples and comparison to other water samples regularly collected by the MPRB in Lake Hiawatha will take about four weeks. Understanding the quality of water pumped from the golf course is an important piece of information for the MPRB.
The work required to collect and interpret data means that the MPRB’s intention to share data is somewhat delayed. Information and initial conclusions will be shared once the MPRB has an opportunity to fully interpret the data and understand its impact on the golf course.