Water quality concerns have surfaced as a top priority for the Cedar Lake and Lake of the Isles (Cedar-Isles) Community Advisory Committee (CAC), which is responsible for guiding the master planning process of these beloved Hill and Lake parks. In response, the Park Board has recently formulated a water quality subcommittee to focus on public concerns.
Comprised of over half of the CAC members, the purpose of the subcommittee is to further evaluate current water quality conditions and trends in both lakes. The aim is to outline metric-based goals and recommendations to be incorporated into the master plan in the next design phase. The subcommittee will also identify watershed-level recommendations to better assess partner agency roles and commitment needed to improve water quality of the lakes that may fall outside of MPRB’s jurisdiction.
Several subcommittee meetings with the Park Board and its consultant team will occur in April and May and are open to the public. The subcommittee recommendations will then be shared with the full CAC for their consideration and approval and will be used to refine the draft Master Plan. It is anticipated that the Park Board Commissioners will consider and adopt the Cedar Lake – Lake of the Isles Master Plan in winter 2022/spring 2023.
The master planning process for Cedar Lake and Lake of the Isles began in fall 2019. During several CAC meetings and extensive community engagement, water quality was raised as an issue of most concern and one of the most important topics to focus on in the master plan. This raised the need for further exploration into lake water quality issues, watershed impacts to the lakes and potential goals and strategies for each lake. For more information about the development of the master plan including future CAC and water quality subcommittee meetings, visit MPRB website — www.minneapolisparks.org/cedar-isles.
