A consultant’s report showed that the Minneapolis, Minn., property is pumping 273 million gallons of groundwater into two ponds annually, which is making its way to Lake Hiawatha, possibly contributing to the lake’s pollution. The course’s permit allows for 38.5 million gallons.
Golf enthusiasts who attended a meeting with the Park Board to discuss plans for Hiawatha Golf Club, one of the two board-owned courses ransacked by floods last year, were surprised to learn that the Minneapolis, Minn., golf course may be illegally polluting Lake Hiawatha, the Minneapolis-based City Pages reported.
The meeting was promoted “as a great chance to provide valuable feedback to discuss concept plans for Hiawatha golf course and clubhouse, Minnehaha Creek, and the adjacent parkland.”
Board member Steffanie Musich told the crowd that renovation plans “had changed drastically.” She cited a consultant’s report that showed 273 million gallons of groundwater from the course was being pumped into two ponds annually, and that water was making its way to Lake Hiawatha. The course’s permit allows for only 38.5 million gallons, Pages reported.
That leaves the course’s full re-opening on indefinite hold. How the Park Board will use the land “is unknown,” said Musich. “I can assure that this land will remain park land, even if golf is not a viable use of the space.”
Musich said it’s premature to say how, or if, the groundwater is contributing the lake’s pollution because it has yet to be analyzed. She would say that it was likely that Lake Hiawatha’s water wasn’t being helped by the massive discharge, which equals seven and a half minutes of water flowing over Niagara Falls, Pages reported.
“At this point what I’ll say is we have ecological concerns,” Musich said.
“It’s hard to imagine pulling that much groundwater out without messing with the lake’s chemistry,” says Minneapolis City Councilman Andrew Johnson. “From previous experiences, we’ve seen how excess groundwater being pumped into a lake can cause pollution.”
In the meantime, the course’s front nine holes are open. A full report on the groundwater is due out in November, Pages reported.
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