WHITEWATER — The city soon will ask residents to take stock of how much they value Cravath and Tripp lakes and how much they would support efforts to improve the quality of the lakes.
The local grassroots group spearheading the effort to find solutions for the ailing lakes meets Tuesday, Dec. 2, to nail down the questions it will ask residents in a questionnaire to be mailed in the spring.
“It’s a huge community issue,” said Matt Amundson, the city’s parks and recreation director.
The city received a $10,000 Department of Natural Resources grant in April to study the lakes and survey the community. A water quality survey, an aquatic plant survey and a recreational use survey were completed this fall, and the questionnaire is up next on the docket.
Jeffrey Thornton, a lakes management expert with the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission, with which the city has contracted to implement the grant, said the questionnaire will gauge three things:
--Economic value of the lakes;
--Social value of the lakes;
--Support for improvement of the lakes.
Because the Cravath and Tripp lakes have ceased to be used for their original purposes, and because time since has taken a toll on the lakes, there’s an out of sight, out of mind perception about them, Thornton said.
“They’re the backside of city,” he said.
Thornton said there’s no doubt residents are concerned about the lakes, but what purpose the lakes should serve differs among residents.
“It’s an interesting dichotomy,” he said. “There are people who look at the lakes and think these are just nasty holes. On the other hand, there are people who use the parks adjacent to the lakes who feel these are valuable resources.”
Thornton said the group is at the beginning of a process, not the end of a process.
It hasn’t determined what exactly will be done to improve the lakes, he said.
“How these lakes are being used to a certain extent will determine the nature of the intervention,” Thornton said.
If residents simply want the lakes to serve as visual amenities, something less extensive might be all that’s necessary, he said, but if residents want to be able to boat, fish or swim in the lakes, something more extensive would be required.
The group also hasn’t determined what type of organization would oversee improvement of the lakes, Thornton said.
“Those actions (to improve the lakes) in turn inform the type of support required from the community,” he said. “The more extensive the intervention, the more expensive.”
Thornton said there are a few options, including the formation of a lake association or a lake district.
A lake association usually is a voluntary group of lakeshore property owners who pool their resources to cover lake management costs, he said.
A lake district taxes all property owners within the district, which could include the whole city, he said.
But the group can’t make any concrete decisions until residents offer their input, Thornton said.
It’s clear, however, that Cravath and Tripp lakes are in for a “new lease on life,” he said.
IF YOU GO
What: Cravath and Tripp lakes improvement committee meeting
When: 3 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 2.
Where: Cravath Lakefront Room, Whitewater City Hall, 312 W. Whitewater St., Whitewater.