High Water on Lakes Area Lakes Becoming a Nuisance

May 12, 2022, Emily Meyers says it is “all hands on deck with sandbagging” and adds that the “cabins are ok still” as Fair Hills Resort deals with high water levels on Pelican Lake. (Photo via Otter Tail Lakes Country)

DETROIT LAKES (KDLM) – High waters on Lakes Area lakes have become a nuisance for many lake shore property owners this spring.

Detroit Lake’s water level is more than a foot above the ordinary high water level, that increase has pushed the lake to its highest water level since late June of 2014. Lakes like Pelican, Melissa and Sallie are also dealing with high water levels causing some property owners to have to sandbag around their homes and cabins.

Gina Kemper with the Pelican River Watershed District says the high water levels aren’t very fun for property owners especially when they start losing shoreline, “You know a lot of people want those sandy beaches, but they’re not holding up and they’re losing them out into the lake.”

One of the ways she says property owners can prevent the loss of shoreline in the future is to plant native vegetation, “The root systems go deep down in and actually secure that shoreline a lot better. Where the shorelines are actually holding up is where we’re having native plantings.”

Those dealing with flooding are reminded that pumping flood waters from yards back into the lake is also prohibited.