Little Rock Lake post drawdown

photo by Dennis Dalman Waves, driven by a brisk south wind, lap onto the shore of the Benton Beach area of Little Rock Lake Sept. 17. Just one week before that date, the area visible in this photo was soggy sand after a lake drawdown that began Aug. 1 and lasted until Sept. 15. The interrelated drawdown on the Mississippi River north of Sartell also lowered the water level by nearly three feet, but the river level quickly regained height when the drawdown ended. In the photo above, thousands of beneficial aquatic plants were planted by volunteers in the exposed lake bottom, as well as many other areas around the lake. Those plants are still there, growing beneath the surface of the water.