Public voices support for increasing water level at Billy Boy Dam

CELIA HIORNS

Staff Reporter

The Department of Natural Resources (DNR ) and the Whitefish Lake Property Owners Association (WLPOA) held an informational hearing Monday about the ordered water level on the Billy Boy Dam.

Public comments showed general support for pending petitions requesting an increase in the dam’s ordered maximum water level.

“I only see positives with this whole thing,” said Dan Tyrolt with the Lac Courte Oreilles Conservation Department. “Improving the oxythermal habitat [two-story fishery] and hopefully improving water levels in the Billy Boy Flowage we can bring back the significant resources and protect them.”

The level of the county- owned Billy Boy Dam influences lake levels on the Billy Boy Flowage, Little Lac Courte Oreilles, Lac Courte Oreilles, Grindstone Lake, Whitefish Lake and Sand Lake.

An order issued in 1955 was the most recent order regulating the water levels of the Billy Boy Dam, according to documents from the DNR. It said that based on measurement from a gauge on Lac Courte Oreilles, the dam should be managed based on a minimum lake level of 96.8 feet and a maximum of 97.3 feet.

Since about 1970, the county had been managing the dam at a higher water level than what was ordered. When this was discovered about 50 years later, in 2021, the DNR directed Sawyer County to manage the dam at the level dictated by the 1955 order and to use a gauge located at the Thoroughfare Road Bridge.

Around the same time, the area was experiencing a drought, according to Courte Oreilles Lake Association senior advisor Alf Sivertson. Property owners started noticing changes in the lake levels on Whitefish Lake and other water bodies, according to Mike McGill, a representative from the WLPOA.

“Starting the spring of 2021, the lake levels of Whitefish and other lakes downstream on the chain went down,” McGill said. “It went down quickly and significantly.”

WLPOA submitted a petition in 2022 asking for a six-inch increase in the dam’s ordered maximum water level and a 4.7-inch increase in the ordered minimum level, according to documents from the DNR. Sawyer County then proposed keeping the ordered minimum the same, while increasing the ordered maximum.

Zoning administrator Jay Kozlowski explained this was suggested to maintain a more realistic window between the proposed minimum and maximum water levels. He added that the county’s proposed operation plan would aim to keep water levels on the higher side of the proposed maximum.

The DNR has tentatively authorized the proposed water level increase and the county’s operation plan. An official decision will be made after the public comment period closes. McGill said if the six-inch increase is approved but doesn’t seem to return lakes to their historic water levels, WLPOA would be looking for approval on a second petition that would increase the dam’s ordered maximum level again.

A number of organizations spoke in favor of the petition to increase the ordered maximum water level. Greg Klausen, member of the Grindstone Lake Association Board, shared a summary of concerns from residents about how changes since 2021 have impacted them.

He pointed to concerns about water quality (more weeds and algae blooms observed), reduced recreational opportunities (challenges getting boats in and out of water) and damage to property values. Even if the proposed water level increase is approved, Klausen added, it will be important to monitor lake levels.

“We want to make sure that we’re moving forward in the right direction and staying positive about this but definitely start to react much more quickly if we’re not seeing those historic water levels happen,” he said. “We are trying to control the controllables.”

Hans Holmberg, senior water resources engineer at LimnoTech, spoke on behalf of the Courte Oreilles Lake Association to highlight the impact of reduced water levels of two-story fishery habitat. Ideally, there is at least one meter of available habitat for species like whitefish and cisco, he said.

These fish need the right combination of cold water and high dissolved oxygen to survive and reproduce. Lower overall water levels result in warm water dipping deeper in the lake while oxygen consumption remains steady, effectively “squeezing” the available habitat into a smaller area, according to Holmberg.

He added that since lake levels have been managed at the higher level for decades, shorelines have “come into equilibrium with those water levels,” meaning additional erosion is unlikely to take place. Feedback on the petition from a DNR resource manager said erosion is more likely to increase with higher water levels but specific conditions will vary by location.

Tyrolt also noted that the Billy Boy Flowage is important both ecologically and culturally for the LCO tribe. Part of the significance lies in the wild rice bed that was harvestable across much of the flowage for the last several decades.

Though wild rice harvest is cyclical and can vary significantly from year to year, Tyrolt said a poor harvest occurred five years in a row, starting in 2021, raising alarm bells for the sustained availability of that resource. He attributes this, at least in part, to the decrease in water levels that allowed for other flora to outcompete wild rice.

“This was really the only self-sustaining wild rice bed that we had on the reservation and so it tanked when the water level regime was changed,” Tyrolt said. “I only think that increasing these water levels is going to have a beneficial impact on the rice here.”

Most of the public speakers voiced support for the dam’s water level increase. Many referenced the loss of twostory fishery habitat, challenges using boats on their lakes and a recent prevalence of swimmer’s itch due to warmer water temperatures.

Brian Bisonette, also with the LCO conservation department, expressed support for raising the water levels. He pointed to both the loss of the fishery habitat as well as the cultural significance of the Billy Boy Flowage.

“[The chain of lakes] gave us food, it gave us medicine,” he said. “People don’t even know that a lot of these lakes, they contain a lot of medicines that traditionally kept us alive. But more importantly, I also hold a lot of the stories that are hundreds of years old.”

Public speakers who spoke in opposition to the petitioned water level increase cited uncertainty about true erosion impacts or the potential for flooding. One speaker called for a hydrologist’s opinion on what could take place if the dam’s water level is raised. He also shared a photo documenting erosion on the north shore of Lac Courte Oreilles with the DNR.

Another speaker recognized that while drought has reduced water levels in recent years, the existing ordered maximum is appropriate for regular rainfall patterns.

“The 1955 order works well during normal rainfall years,” he said. “The six-inch margin allows for rainfall amounts so you don’t flood properties. A drought management plan — abnormally dry, lack of rainfall management plan — would work better. That’s what you need … I’ve observed these cycles during my lifetime here.”

Other questions raised by the public during the hearing included how the drawdowns would be managed and how increased lake levels could impact groundwater. While many of those testifying dismissed large-scale impacts of shoreline erosion, some speakers wondered how those who may be impacted could seek rectification.

Feedback from DNR resource managers on the proposed change was also presented during the hearing. One of those statements indicated there was no expected impact to fishery habitat as a result of the proposed change. The feedback also said it was unknown how the changes could impact water quality, cranberry operations on the watershed or wild rice production.

Written comments on the proposed water level change will be accepted through the end of the day on Dec. 25, 2025. They may be submitted to Jacob Druffner by phone at (715) 461-0159 or email Jacob.Druffner@wisconsin. gov or Dan Harrington by phone at (715) 733-0019 or email Dan.Harrington@wisconsin.gov. Comments can also be mailed to 810 W Maple St. Spooner, WI 54801.