Where’s the water? Drought dries up Minnesota lake levels

Mid-summer days are typically the peak time for Minnesotans to spend time enjoying the state’s many lakes.

But Anne and Joe Nicklaus, year-round residents of White Sand Lake in Baxter, spent Friday in mud over their ankles, trying to load their pontoon onto a trailer and hoist it out of the water at the public access.

Because of the lake’s low water level, Anne Nicklaus said they’ve only used the pontoon once since Memorial Day.

“Lake life is awesome, but this is not a nice time with the water so low,” she said.

Recent weeks of below-normal rainfall and above-average temperatures have caused water levels in many lakes to fall, frustrating property owners and cutting into boating, fishing and swimming during the height of summer.

Lake levels around the state are low, but the steepest drops are in northeast and north-central Minnesota. Some lakes in Cass and Hubbard counties are up to 4 feet lower than 2020.

In north-central Minnesota, a persistent drought stretching several years has created a “storage drought,” depleting lakes, streams and groundwater.

That part of the state has received a total of 12 to 16 inches less rain than normal over the past four years, said Luigi Romolo, state climatologist with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

“That repeated accumulation of deficit in water has made the area a lot more susceptible to drought,” Romolo said. “The lake levels, the stream flows, groundwater levels are a lot lower than they should be based on what the drought conditions are today.”

Recovery won’t happen quickly. Romolo said it could take months – or even more than a year – of above-normal precipitation to restore lake levels and soil moisture.

“One wet year might not be enough,” he said.

Winter snowpack also helps determine lake levels and soil moisture. Midwinter thaws, as in Minnesota in recent years, send melting snow downstream instead of allowing it to soak into the ground, replenishing soil and groundwater.

“What we really need to do to get our soils and our lakes and our groundwaters filled back up is we need winters where we can get snow on the ground, hold that snow on the ground and then melt it in the spring,” Romolo said.

Complicating the problem is water consumption increases during dry conditions as people use more to irrigate crops, lawns and sports fields.

The DNR says conserving water is always important, but critical during drought years.

Some benefits of low lakes

Low lake levels can be an annoyance, but fluctuations in water levels are a natural cycle and beneficial to many plants and animals, said Heather Baird, lake habitat supervisor with the DNR’s Brainerd office.

"Our low water years is really when our aquatic vegetation bounces back,” Baird said. “You can have bulrush seeds and bur-reed seeds lay dormant in the soil until we get a dry period. And then they germinate."

Those aquatic plants are important for fish and wildlife habitat to maintain lake health and prevent shoreline erosion, Baird said.

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