In their ongoing efforts to address water quality at Black Hawk Lake, the city of Lake View recently completed work on the Dixieland bio-retention cell near Dixieland Trailer Park. The cell captures rainfall and filters it into the ground where it is then naturally treated and nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorous, are then removed. The project required about a foot of excavation in the ditch bottom that was then replaced with “amended soils,” mainly sand, which water can pass through more easily. Water-loving plants were then planted in the ditch bottom. The cell will be able to filter up to an inch and a quarter of rain over a 24-hour period. During heavy rains, a tile underneath the cell will drain the filtered water to Black Hawk Lake. The bio-retention cell is just one of the recent projects done to improve the water quality and clarity of the lake. Previous efforts had been focused on the lake and the watershed directly, and the community is now turning their focus to more urban projects, like this.
