An Introduction to Clear Lake, Iowa
John A. Downing, Jeff Kopaska, Rebecca Cordes, and David Knoll
A. Identification and location.
Clear Lake is one of Iowa's 34 natural, glacial lakes, and it is one of 27 that are managed for water-based recreation and fishing. It discharges into Clear Creek at Clear Lake, Iowa. The lake is located in Sections 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 and 28 of Township 96 North, Range 22 West of Cerro Gordo County, Iowa. The location of the lake within the state and Cerro Gordo County is shown in Figures 1 and 2. The surface area of the lake is 1,468 hectares (3,625 acres) when the water elevation is at 373.9 meters (1226.8 feet) above mean sea level (MSL). The surface area of the watershed is 4,888 hectares (12,079 acres), with nearly level to steeply sloping topography. Prairie-derived soils in this area were developed from Wisconsin glacial till. The major soil association in the watershed is Canisteo-Nicollet-Clarion. A spillway is located along the eastern shore of the lake and drains the lake at an elevation of 373.9 meters (1226.8 feet) MSL into Clear Creek.
Lake Name: Clear Lake
State: Iowa
County: Cerro Gordo
Nearest Municipalities: Clear Lake, Ventura
Latitude: 43° 08¢ 01”N (gauging station)
Longitude: 93° 22¢ 57” W (gauging station)
EPA Region: 7
USGS Major Basin Name: Upper Mississippi
USGS Minor Basin Name: Iowa-Skunk-Wapsipinicon
USGS Hydrologic Unit Code: 07080203
Major Tributaries: Ventura Marsh
Receiving Water Body: Clear Creek
B. Geological description of the basin.
Clear Lake is Iowa’s third largest natural lake, and the lake measures 8 km (5 miles) long and has a maximum width of 3 km (2 miles) in the eastern portion. Clear Lake is rather shallow with a maximum depth of 5.8 meters (19 feet) and a mean depth of 2.9 meters (9.5 feet). The watershed is drained by many small tributaries, and the greatest portion (47%) of surface flow passes through Ventura Marsh on its way to the lake. The watershed to lake ratio of 2.3:1 is very small compared to most Iowa lakes. Land use in the watershed consists primarily of cropland (59%), urban areas and roads (14%), and marsh (9%). Watershed land use practices are discussed in detail in Chapter 10 (pages 233-259).
Clear Lake and its watershed lie in the Algona-Altamont moraine complex of the Des Moines Lobe. The watershed has a varying topography with slopes from 0 to 25 percent. The soils of the watershed are prairie- and forest-derived (Fig. 3), and the dominant soil associations are Canisteo-Nicollet-Clarion and Clarion-Webster-Nicollet. The most common soil series found in the watershed are Clarion (25%), Webster (14%), and Canisteo (10%), and the distribution of these series is shown in Figure 4.
Hydrologic soils groups are used to help estimate runoff from precipitation. Soils are grouped according to their ability to absorb water when the soils are wet and receive precipitation from storms of long duration. Combinations of groups are used for heterogeneous soil complexes.
Group A soils have a high infiltration rate (low runoff potential) when thoroughly wet. These soils consist mainly of deep, well drained to excessively drained sands or gravely sands. They have a high rate of water transmission.
Group B soils have a moderate infiltration rate when thoroughly wet. These soils consist chiefly of moderately deep or deep, moderately well drained or well-drained soils that have moderately fine texture to moderately coarse texture. They have a moderate rate of water transmission.
Group C soils have a slow infiltration rate when thoroughly wet. These soils consist chiefly of soils having a layer that impedes the downward movement of water or soils of moderately fine texture or fine texture. They have a slow rate of water transmission.
Group D soils have a very slow infiltration rate (high runoff potential) when thoroughly wet. These soils consist chiefly of clays that have a high shrink-swell potential, soils that have a permanent high water table, soils that have a claypan or clay layer at or near the surface, and soils that are shallow over nearly impervious material. They have a very slow rate of water transmission.
Most soils in the watershed (90%) are classified hydrologically as Group B as shown in Figure 5. Group A soils are found in a few locations in the watershed, and Group C and D soils are present, but very rare (Fig. 5).
C. History of Clear Lake and of lake use.
Clear Lake has a long and interesting history as a focal point for recreation in Iowa. This history has been well documented locally and in print. Two of the primary historical documents are “A pictorial history of Clear Lake, Iowa” (Clear Lake Mirror-Reporter 1993) and “Sesquicentennial history book of Clear Lake, Iowa” (Clear Lake Mirror-Reporter 2001). One other historical book about Clear Lake is “White clouds, blue water: the story of Clear Lake” (Herker 1976). These publications provide excellent historical views of the lake and community at Clear Lake. In addition to these locally-produced historical documents, graduate students from Iowa State University have thus far produced over 40 theses and dissertations describing the fish, water, and plankton of Clear Lake (Appendix 1).
Recreationally,
Clear Lake has been, and continues to be, intensively used for several
reasons. Although there are 7 other
lakes within 80 km (50 miles) of Clear Lake, there are no other large water
bodies within 30 km (20 miles). Within that 30 km radius are located the cities of
Mason City, Clear Lake, Ventura and Garner. Historically, the lake and its
surroundings have been intensively developed for public recreational use by the
state IDNR.
Estimates of lake use were reported by Bachmann et al. (1994) in A Classification of Iowa’s Lakes for Restoration (IDNR, Final Report). These estimates were made by IDNR district fisheries biologists for this report, and are based on a combination of existing reports and professional judgment (Table 1). Estimates were made of the annual total visits to Clear Lake. From these data, the areas adjacent to Clear Lake, such as Clear Lake State Park, Clear Lake City Park, and McIntosh Woods State Park are used extensively for camping and picnicking forms of recreation. Camping and picnicking account for almost 50% of the use of Clear Lake and its surrounding areas while multiple types of fishing and pleasure boating account for another 35%.
Additionally, records have been kept of park use by IDNR park rangers. Total visitation of the lake has increased by more than 50% since 1996 while the number of campers using the lake has increased more than 20% during the same period (Table 2).
D. Comparison
of use with other lakes.
Recreation use surveys have been done for major public lakes in Iowa. Estimates of the number of recreational visits per year for lakes within an 80 km radius show that Clear Lake has a great number of visitors and high use intensity, according to IDNR data (Tables 3 and 4). Clear Lake is intensively used for recreational purposes for several reasons, one of which is that Clear Lake and Mason City constitute the regional population center for north-central Iowa (Bachmann et al. 1994). Although there are 7 lakes within 80 km (50 miles) of Clear Lake, none of them are within 30 km (20 miles). Factors that influence the high visitation rate and use intensity include the relatively high local population, the ease of transportation access to the lake, and the size of Clear Lake. Additionally, the lake and its surroundings have been intensively developed for public recreational use by the IDNR.
E. Description of public access.
Clear Lake lies in the western part of Cerro Gordo County in north-central Iowa, and has the cities of Clear Lake and Ventura lying along its shores. The 3,625-acre lake and two bordering state parks, Clear Lake State Park and McIntosh Woods State Park, are managed by the IDNR. Additionally, the cities of Clear Lake and Ventura have city parks that lie along the shores of Clear Lake. Approximately ten percent of the lake’s shoreline is in public ownership (Bachmann 1994). There are also 24 public access points to the lake in the city of Clear Lake, and 15 of these have public docks. Clear Lake is one of Iowa's 34 natural, glacial lakes, and is currently managed for recreation and gamefish production.
Clear Lake State Park has one of
the most popular campgrounds in the Iowa state park system. The campground contains 215 camping sites,
95 with electric hookups, and modern restrooms. The park also contains more than 10 acres of picnic grounds, an
open picnic shelter, a lodge, a 900 foot sandy swimming beach, and playground
equipment. A concrete path runs the
length of the beach for use by the mobility impaired. The fees assessed at the parks are $20 per day for open picnic
shelters, $80 per day for the lodge, $16 per night for an electric hook-up campsite,
and $11 for a primitive campsite. (Source: http://www.state.ia.us/parks/brochure.htm)
McIntosh State Park has 50 camping
sites, 45 with electricity, modern restrooms, and an open picnic shelter. The park also boasts the only 2 “yurts”
(round tent-like structures on a platform containing a futon, bunk bed, and
table and chairs) in Iowa parks. The
park is also one of the major boat access points for Clear Lake. A modern boat ramp with an extensive area
for vehicle and trailer parking is present.
The fees assessed at the parks are $30 per day for yurt rental, $20 per
day for open picnic shelters, $16 per night for an electric hook-up campsite,
and $11 for a primitive campsite. (Source: http://www.state.ia.us/parks/brochure.htm) Ventura Access is located a mile west of
McIntosh Woods and features a boat ramp, an open picnic area, a ball field and
a new fishing dock designed for handicap access.
There are a number of lakes available for recreation in this part of Iowa, yet Clear Lake is used extensively for water-based outdoor recreation. Like other rural areas in Iowa, there is no public transportation to the lake; however, there is ample access for private transportation. The lake is close to one state highway (107), several federal highways (18, 65, 69), and one interstate highway (35). There are also several paved city and county roads providing immediate access to the lake and parks. The cities of Clear Lake (pop. 8,161) and Ventura (pop. 670) are located on the shores of Clear Lake, and the lake is also 10 miles east of Mason City (pop. 29,172). (Source: http://www.soc.iastate.edu/census/2000.html)
Public transportation is not available for most individuals, however mobility impaired individuals are provided with access to the lake at the public's expense to ensure that all individuals who wish to enjoy Clear Lake can do so. CART (Clear Lake Area Responsive Transit) offers transportation to the lake for mobility impaired Clear Lake residents. Cerro Gordo county residents who are mobility impaired can access the lake through the Cerro Gordo County Public Transit. Public transportation from Opportunity Village in Clear Lake to the lake is also provided for mobility-impaired individuals. Other forms of publicly funded transportation to Clear Lake include student groups from local schools traveling in school buses to the lake for interpretive programs, and to the IDNR fish hatchery for walleye spawning programs. Also, interpretive programs are held at the lake for local Boy and Girl Scout groups.
F. Population and economic characteristics.
The use of Clear Lake is divided between local residents and people from other regions. Local use includes individuals from both Cerro Gordo and Hancock counties, while regional use includes use by people from all of central and north-central Iowa, as well as south-central Minnesota.
Based on the most recent information available from the Iowa State University Sociology World Wide Web page located at http://www.soc.iastate.edu/census/ and 2000 data from Iowa PROfiles (Public Resources Online) World Wide Web page, located at at http://ia.profiles.iastate.edu/, the population of Cerro Gordo County is 46,447 and the population of Hancock County is 12,100. The major population center is Mason City (Cerro Gordo Co.), with a 2000 population of 29,172.
According to the 1998 data, Cerro Gordo County has an average per capita income of $24,902 and Hancock County has an average per capita income of $21,716. Comparatively, the statewide 1998 average per capita income was $24,745. Services, retail trade, and manufacturing are the chief sources of employment in Cerro Gordo County, while manufacturing, services, and farming are the chief sources of employment in Hancock County. According to 1997 statistics, 9.5% of the families in Cerro Gordo County and 8.0% of the families in Hancock County were living below the federal poverty level. The average of families falling below the poverty level for the state of Iowa falls in between these values at 9.1%. On the basis of these comparisons the income levels of the local users of Clear Lake are similar to those of the state, while Cerro Gordo County residents have a higher income than Hancock County residents and residents of the state as a whole. The above data were obtained from the state of Iowa libraries at http://www.silo.lib.ia.us/datacenter/, the sociology server at Iowa State University at http://www.soc.iastate.edu/census/, and from the Iowa PROfiles (Public Resources Online) World Wide Web page, located at http://ia.profiles.iastate.edu/.
Agriculture and related industries are also important sources of income in Cerro Gordo (area = 367,670 acres) and Hancock Counties (area = 366,539 acres). In 1997 there were 822 farms in Cerro Gordo County encompassing 300,851 acres and averaging 366 acres in size. Thus, farmland occupies 82% of the county. During 1997; 138,810 acres of corn and 120,639 acres of soybeans were harvested. In all, 264,004 acres were harvested for grain and forage, which is 88% of the total farmland or 72% of the total land in the county. Also, in 1997 there were 126,766 hogs and 9,418 cattle on farms in Cerro Gordo County. The above data were obtained from the Iowa PROfiles (Public Resources Online) World Wide Web page, located at at http://ia.profiles.iastate.edu/.
The same data source indicates that in 1997 there were 849 farms in Hancock County encompassing 334,050 acres and averaging 393 acres in size. Thus, farmland occupies 91% of the county. During 1997, 165,437 acres of corn and 136,208 acres of soybeans were harvested. In all, 304,229 acres were harvested for grain and forage, which is 91% of the total farmland or 83% of the total land in the county. Also, in 1997 there were 174,621 hogs and 11,616 cattle on farms in Hancock County.
The Clear Lake Chamber of Commerce indicates that Clear Lake has enjoyed an annual impact of tourism worth over $30 million locally every year since 1995. Data for the 1995-1996 fiscal year (April 1995 – March 1996) show this was the first year Clear Lake generated over $30 million (Table 5). Tourism expenditures increased annually and topped out at just over $39 million in 1998-1999, but dropped to around $35 million in 1999-2000. These figures are based upon hotel/motel tax receipts collected annually in Clear Lake, and applied to statistics from U.S. travel expense data for Iowa.
G. Valuation of Clear Lake Water Quality. (Written by Cathy Kling, Joe Herriges, and Chris Azevedo, Department of Economics, ISU).
One factor that often determines the value of a lake is its water quality. While it is difficult to establish a monetary value for clean water, it is possible to determine the “willingness to pay” of lake users for maintenance of or improvement upon the present water quality of a lake. This was the goal of the survey reported upon in Chapter 2, Valuing Preservation and Improvements of Water Quality in Clear Lake. This section uses information from the survey, and extrapolates them to get a measure of the total value of water quality maintenance or improvement at Clear Lake.
To determine the total value associated with avoiding deterioration of the lake, it was necessary to add up the reported value of the lake to residents and visitors, appropriately weighted by the numbers of residents and visitors, respectively. The value of the lake to residents and visitors was determined using survey methods, and is described in the following chapter. This method of determining value actually provides a lower bound on the value of avoiding water quality deterioration, as it omits the value placed on water quality improvements by people that neither visit the lake nor live near the lake. This latter type of value is referred to as “nonuse” or “existence” value. It is likely that there are some Iowans who would be willing to pay for water quality improvements despite never visiting of living near the lake.
There are about 2965 residences in the towns of Clear Lake and Ventura, as reported by Survey Sampling Inc. The survey results find respondents report an average willingness to pay of $550 to avoid the deterioration as described in Plan A (Chapter 2). Thus, an estimate of the total willingness to pay of residents to avoid the water quality reduction is about $1,630,000. The estimate of the average value a visitor places on this water quality improvement is about $100. Note that this is a value per visitor household, not per trip. Thus, to arrive at a total value for all visitors, we need an estimate of the number of visitors (households) who visit the lake annually.
The 1999 Clear Lake Creel Survey conducted by Jim Wahl, Bruce Ellison and Gary Vonderohe indicated that 34,800 anglers used Clear Lake in 1999. Of that number, about 77% were from outside the towns of Clear Lake or Ventura; thus, 26,796 (rounded to 26,800) visitors are from outside of the two towns (it is important not to double count residents here as their values are incorporated above). However, this number represents an estimate of anglers only. To estimate the total number of households that use the lake, it is assumed that each angler represents a separate household. The survey asked visitors to indicate the percentage of their time they spent at various activities. On average, visitors report spending 15% of their time at Clear Lake fishing. That is,
0.15(Total time) = Fishing time, or
Total time = Fishing time/(0.15).
The angler data collected in the 1999 Creel Survey assumes that fishing trips are the sole purpose of the trip. If so, or if the relationship between fishing time and total time can be extended to fishing trips and total trips, then an estimate of the total number of visitors engaged in all activities at the lake is provided by
Total number of households visiting the lake = 26,800/(0.15) = 178,650.
Multiplying this estimate of the number of households visiting the lake by an average value of about $100, yields a total value to visitors of avoiding the water quality deterioration of about $17, 865,000. The total value of avoiding the deterioration to both residents and visitors is about $19,500,000 over a 5-year period.
The previous estimate is, of course, very dependent on the estimate of the number of households who visit the lake (178,650). If more accurate estimates of the number of visitors are available, the total value could easily be recomputed. Finally, it is important to note that there is statistical uncertainty associated with these estimates since they are based on a sample of the population. Although it is difficult to precisely compute confidence intervals due to combining data from various sources (survey data and angling visitors), it is suspected that confidence intervals of plus or minus 40% are not unreasonable.
The survey also provides information on a substantive improvement in the conditions of the lake. Performing the same set of calculations as described above, and using the same estimates of household numbers, generates a total value estimate of about $40,200,000 over 5-years.
Finally,
we have attempted to estimate a total value for the current users of Ventura
Marsh. Guy Zenner (IDNR waterfoul
biologist, pers. comm.) has estimated that there are about 1330 hunter days at
the Marsh. Using data from previous
wetland research conducted by the authors (Iowa Wetlands: Perceptions and
Values by Azevedo, Herriges, and Kling.
Available online at
http://www.card.iastate.edu/publications/texts/00sr91.pdf), it was estimated
that hunters made up 32% of the users of Iowa wetlands. Therefore, an estimate of the total number
of users of Ventura Marsh is 4156. From
the same wetlands research, the value of a visitor day to a wetland was
estimated to be about $8 - $17 per day.
Therefore, a rough estimate of the annual value of the marsh in its
current condition is somewhere between $33,250 and $70,650.
In addition, it is
important to emphasize that this represents one year's benefits in a continuing
stream, as opposed to the values reported above that represent the total value
associated with a project to improve or prevent degradation of the water
quality.
Azevedo, C., J.
A. Herriges, and C. L. Kling.
2000. Iowa Wetlands: Perceptions
and Values. Center for Agricultural and
Rural Development, Iowa State University, Ames, IA. http://www.card.iastate.edu/publications/texts/00sr91.pdf
Bachmann, R. W., T. Hoyman, L. Hatch, B. Hutchins. 1994. A classification of Iowa's lakes for restoration. Iowa Department of Natural Resources, final report.
Clear Lake Mirror-Reporter. 2001. Sesquicentennial history book of Clear Lake, Iowa. Clear Lake, Iowa.
Clear Lake Mirror-Reporter. 1993. A pictorial history of Clear Lake, Iowa. D-Book Publishing Co., Marceline, Missouri.
Census Services. 2001. Iowa State University, Department of Sociology. http://www.soc.iastate.edu/census/
Herker, Beth A.
White clouds, blue water: the story of Clear Lake. 1976.
Graphic Pub. Co., Lake Mills, Iowa.
Iowa PROfiles. 1999. Iowa State University, Department of Economics. http://ia.profiles.iastate.edu/
State Data Center. 2000. State Library of Iowa, Des Moines, Iowa. http://www.silo.lib.ia.us/datacenter/
State Parks and Recreation Areas Directory. Iowa Department of Natural Resources. http://www.state.ia.us/parks/brochure.htm
U.S.
Dept. of Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, and U.S. Dept. of Commerce,
Bureau of the Census. 1996. 1996 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting,
and Wildlife-Associated Recreation.
TABLE 1. Itemized summary of 1991-1992 recreational activities at Clear
Lake, from Bachmann et al. (1994). Data
reflect estimates made by IDNR district fisheries biologists, and were based on
a combination of existing reports and professional judgment.
Activity
|
Total
Visits |
Use/Hectare |
Use/Acre |
%
of Total Use |
Fishing
|
|
|
|
|
From boats |
16000 |
10.7 |
4.3 |
3 |
Shore or ice fishing |
24000 |
16.1 |
6.5 |
4 |
Swimming
|
105000 |
70.4 |
28.5 |
19 |
Pleasure
boating |
160000 |
107.3 |
43.3 |
28 |
Hunting |
1200 |
0.8 |
0.3 |
0.2 |
Picnicking, camping, other
activities prompted by the lake’s presence |
250000 |
167.7 |
67.9 |
44 |
Snowmobiling |
8000 |
5.4 |
2.2 |
1.3 |
Ice-skating
and cross-country skiing |
3000 |
2.0 |
0.8 |
0.5 |
Total |
567200 |
380.4 |
154.0 |
|
TABLE
2. Total visits and camping activities at Clear
Lake State Park and McIntosh Woods State Park, 1996-2000. Data from Jim
Scheffler, IDNR (pers. comm.) as reported to him by local IDNR park staff.
|
Clear
Lake State Park |
McIntosh
Woods State Park |
||
Year |
Total
Visits |
Individual
Campers |
Total
Visits |
Individual
Campers |
1996 |
197,600 |
25,941 |
269,700 |
10,577 |
1997 |
206,275 |
16,489 |
301,800 |
11,230 |
1998 |
176,250 |
23,982 |
307,000 |
9,953 |
1999 |
201,100 |
25,588 |
349,000 |
8,038 |
2000 |
300,300 |
31,935 |
361,500 |
9,225 |
TABLE 3. Comparison of 2000 recreational use of Clear Lake’s state parks
with other state parks within an 80 km radius (Jim Scheffler, IDNR, pers. comm.).
Lake |
County |
Total
use |
Individual
Campers |
A.A.
Call |
Kossuth |
71,900 |
370 |
Beeds
Lake |
Franklin |
275,000 |
19,092 |
Clear
Lake |
Cerro
Gordo |
300,300 |
31,935 |
McIntosh
Woods |
Cerro
Gordo |
361,500 |
9,225 |
Pilot
Knob |
Hancock |
128,500 |
4,275 |
TABLE 4. Comparison of 1991-1992 recreational use of Clear Lake with other
lakes within an 80 km radius. Data are
from Bachmann et al. (1994) reflecting estimates made by IDNR district fisheries
biologists, and were based on a combination of existing reports and
professional judgment.
Lake |
County |
Lake Size (ha.) |
1991-1992 Total Use |
1991-1992 Visits/ha. of Lake |
Beeds
Lake |
Franklin |
41.0 |
231,700 |
5651.2 |
Clear
Lake |
Cerro
Gordo |
1491.0 |
567,200 |
380.4 |
Lake
Cornelia |
Wright |
98.0 |
87,500 |
892.9 |
Crystal
Lake |
Hancock |
108.6 |
13,979 |
128.7 |
Eldred
Sherwood Lake |
Hancock |
8.0 |
8,063 |
1007.9 |
Lake
Hendricks |
Howard |
16.0 |
30,534 |
1908.4 |
Silver
Lake |
Worth |
128.0 |
3,475 |
27.1 |
Lake
Smith |
Kossuth |
24.0 |
12,690 |
528.8 |
TABLE 5. Itemized summary of 1994-2001 hotel/motel tax receipts and
calculated annual impact of tourism for Clear Lake. Data were provided by the Clear Lake Area Chamber of Commerce.
Fiscal Year |
Hotel/Motel Tax Receipts |
Annual Impact of Tourism |
1994-1995 |
$147,732.21 |
$27,357,816 |
1995-1996 |
$163,041.92 |
$30,192,947 |
1996-1997 |
$177,169.69 |
$34,071,094 |
1997-1998 |
$199,007.04 |
$36,183,098 |
1998-1999 |
$214,758.04 |
$39,046,916 |
1999-2000 |
$205,124.65 |
$35,366,319 |
2000-2001 |
$203,681.72 |
not
available |
FIGURE 1. Location of Clear Lake within Cerro Gordo and Hancock counties and the state of Iowa.
FIGURE 2. Location of Clear Lake within Cerro Gordo and Hancock counties.
FIGURE 3. Map of Clear Lake watershed representing prairie and forest derived soils.
FIGURE 4. Distribution of common soil series in the Clear Lake watershed.
FIGURE
5. Distribution and percentage of soil
hydrogroups in the Clear Lake watershed.