Tainter Lake

Infobox lake
lake_name = Tainter Lake
image_lake =
image_bathymetry =
caption_bathymetry =
location = Dunn County, Wisconsin
coords = coord|44|56|06|N|91|53|19|W|type:waterbody_region:US-WI|display=inline,title
type = Reservoir
inflow = Red Cedar River, Hay River
outflow = Red Cedar River
catchment =
basin_countries = United States
length =
width =
area = convert|1752|acre|abbr=on|lk=on
depth =
max-depth = convert|37|ft|abbr=on
volume =
residence_time =
shore = convert|25.7|mi|abbr=on|lk=on
elevation = convert|872|ft|abbr=on
islands =
cities = Cedar Falls

Tainter Lake is a small reservoir in north central Dunn County, Wisconsin, on the Red Cedar River at its confluence with the Hay River. The lake was created by a hydroelectric dam (about convert|3|mi|km|0 downstream from the main body of the lake itself) on the Red Cedar at Cedar Falls. The lake, a popular resort and fishing spot, has a surface area of approximately convert|2|sqmi|km2|0. It is infamous for the algae that bloom in the summer months.

Geography

Tainter Lake is located in the northern part of Dunn County, Wisconsin. A small channel divides the lake into North and South regions. This channel creates some of the most narrow parts of the lake (50 ft) and also contains the deepest part of the lake (35 ft). The average depth of the lake is convert|20|ft|m.

A couple very small resorts reside on the shores, but the lake is not known for its large fish populations. North Tainter is better known for its fishing than the southern part. There are several factors why the north part has better fish than the south; the north has multiple fish cribs that have been planted over the last twenty years, the north is also significantly shallower than the southern part of the lake, and many species of fish spawn in the shallow slow moving water.

North Tainter Lake is fed primarily by the Red Cedar River, but also by the Hay River. The Hay and Red Cedar Rivers both drain the farm fields north of Lake Tainter. The water that drains off those fields is full of fertilizers that feed millions of green algae in the summer months. Both Lake Menomin and Lake Tainter are infamous for the large algae blooms that turn the water green and cause it to smell very foul. Little effort has been spent toward the cleaning of the lakes. This is mostly because the fact that it is nearly impossible to contain all the runoff from the large farm fields. The slow current and perfect water temperatures of the lakes provide ideal conditions for the algae to produce large blooms. The Red Cedar River south of the Cedar Falls dam creates flows for about three miles (5 km) until it reaches Lake Menomin. Lake Menomin is also created by a dam on the Red Cedar. Because the dam on Lake Menomin is the last dam on the Red Cedar River before the Mississippi, you can legally fish that part of the river out of season.

History

Before the installation of the dam at Cedar Falls (Kakabika Falls), Tainter Lake did not exist. There was just the Red Cedar River and acres of pine forests. The decision to build the mill and dam came from Andrew Tainter (1823 - 1899) a wealthy lumber baron who became the lake's namesake. Andrew Tainter was a partner in Knapp, Stout and Company which was the largest lumber mill in the country during the 1870s. It was reported that they owned convert|115000|acre|km2|-1 of pine land and employed 1,200 men. By that time the company had logging camps on nearly every stream leading to the Red Cedar and controlled almost all of the Red Cedar River and its tributaries. The company's largest mill operation was on the Menomonee River (what the Red Cedar was commonly called) where the lumber settlement became known as the "mills of Menomonie" or "Menomonie Mills" and finally Menomonie, now the county seat of Dunn. The firm continued to log until 1899 when the forests were exhausted and competition keen. The mill at Cedar Falls closed in 1901.

During those productive years of logging, acres of forest land near and next to the Red Cedar River were cleared. While the company owned a number of farms to provide food and meat for the loggers, pioneer farmers also moved to the area, removed stumps and began farming. Most of the newly created farm land sloped, or had access, to the river as it had been so efficient for logging. Decades later this same water shed, and the farming industry, would mean trouble for Tainter Lake. Vegetation maps of the mid-1880s indicate that the area was 90 percent forest and 10 percent native grasses. Maps of the early 1980s indicate that the basin area is less than 50 percent forest and 40 perecent agricultural land. These are the historical issues that impact the area today and contribute to the excessive algae in Lake Tainter.

Fishing

The fishing in Tainter lake is below par. The lake has not been a good fishing lake for several years and has not had a bait shop on it for almost 15 years. During the summer, the algae blooms make fishing very difficult. The algae is thick and creates very poor water clarity, not allowing the fish to see any bait. The algae also floats on the surface and smells, making it very unpleasant to fish. However, there are times of the year when the fishing on lake Tainter could be considered satisfactory. During the spring and fall months, Walleye bite along the shallow shores. Walleye fishing is also good in the deeper waters if the trolling motor with a walking weight is used. Northern Pike is also a somewhat common species in lake Tainter. Big Northern have been caught off the steep shore line in the southern half of the lake.

Cedar Falls Hydroelectric Project

Xcel Energy operates the Cedar Falls Hydroelectric Project which impounds Tainter Lake. The project consists of a convert|510|ft|m|1 long convert|50|ft|m|1 high dam located near Cedar Falls, Wisconsin. Its powerhouse contains three 2,000 kW electrical generators with a total capacity of 7.1 MW. The facility can produce over 33.6 million kilowatt hours of electricity each year. [Federal Register. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. [http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/14mar20010800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2004/E4-175.htm Project No. 2697-014] . February 4, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 23).] It is a modified run-of-the-river hydroelectricity project. The Cedar Falls dam was originally a timber dam and was replaced with a concrete dam in 1910. New generators were added in 1912 and 1915 and the project has changed little since that time. [Xcel Energy. [http://www.xcelenergy.com/XLWEB/CDA/0,3080,1-1-1_1875_4797_4240-3688-0_0_0-0,00.html Western Wisconsin Hydro Plants] . Accessed May 4, 2007.] In 2005 the dam's gates were upgraded to include Obermeyer spillway gates with inflatable rubber bladders that allow more consistent water levels on the lake through the year. [Xcel Energy. [http://www.xcelenergy.com/XLWEB/CDA/0,3080,1-1-1_15531_34200-22879-0_0_0-0,00.html Installation of spillway gate nearing completion at Cedar Falls Dam] . Accessed May 4, 2007.] Before the installation of the inflatable gates, the dam featured gates made of plywood that were designed to break as the ice melted. During the installation of the inflatable gates the water level of the lake dropped about 5 or convert|6|ft|m. This caused the water to erode some of the land that people put their docks on. When the water level returned to normal residents living on the lake with docks had to shorten the length of their dock because the water had become significantly deeper.

References

* "The Tainter/Menomin Lake Improvement Association". DATE! .
* "Tainter Lake, Wisconsin". DATE! .
*http://www.rootsweb.com/~widunn/knapp-stout-founders.htm
*http://discover-net.net/~dchs/history/explaces.html#Red%20Cedar%20River
*http://www.usgennet.org/usa/wi/county/eauclaire/history/ourstory/vol2/knappstout.html

External links

* [http://dnr.wi.gov/org/water/fhp/lakes/lakemap/2068000z.htm Wisconsin DNR 1960 Lake survey maps]

* [http://www.obermeyerhydro.com]