TWIN LAKES - The future of South Twin Lake will be up for discussion this evening in Rockwell City.

However, a decision on what alterations will be made to the rural Calhoun County lake is more than a year away, according to Doug Janke, a wildlife biologist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

A public meeting will be held tonight in Rockwell City. The gathering will allow people to voice their opinions and hear what the DNR has to say about the 600-acre body of water, Janke said.

According to Janke, the ultimate goal of any project will be to restore water quality and aquatic health to South Twin Lake - a shallower, more rustic counterpart to the adjacent North Twin Lake, a popular site for boating and other water recreation.

The first step of the improvement program is to collect data on the lake's water quality and quantity of fish, wildlife. aquatic plant and invertebrates in the lake. Monitoring of South Twin Lake began in 2006, with results indicating the renovation project would significantly improve the quality of its water.

Currently, funding is available for a feasibility study to help determine what is possible for the lake, Janke said.

That study is scheduled to begin in 2010 and to take between six to eight months, he said.

In the future, South Twin could fall under the auspices of the DNR's Shallow Lakes program, which would involve draining the lake to establish new mud flats and reduce the presence of unfavorable species like carp, which stir up sediment that prevents sunlight from permeating the lake and promoting plant growth.

Other Iowa lakes included in the Shallow Lakes program are Diamond Lake near Lake Okoboji and Big Wall Lake in Wright County, Janke said.

However, if such a course of action is pursued, it would not be for several years, according to Janke.

"There have been absolutely no decisions made to go ahead with anything in particular," he said.

Some owners of property adjacent to the lake oppose the shallow option.

Mary Gidel, who, along with her husband Dave Gidel, resides year-round at South Twin Lake, said she would sooner see the lake dredged to make it more appropriate for boating and fishing.

Gidel said that South Twin is used for sailboating, wakeboarding and fishing, but inadequate facilities leave the lake underutilized.

At present, "There is only a primitive boat ramp without a dock," she said.

According to Gidel, South Twin Lake was historically deeper than its current depth of approximately seven feet.

"They dredged the north lake in 1939 and put the sludge into the south lake," said Gidel, a science teacher at Rockwell City/Lytton High School.

If dredging is not an option, Gidel, who plans to voice her opinions at tonight's meeting, said she would favor the lake being left alone until enough funding was available to restore both North and South Twin Lakes.

Contact Jesse Helling at (515) 573-2141 or jhelling@messengernews.net