Wassermann Lake Association Organization

An organizing committee of proactive Wassermann -area citizens led by Stan Rud, Chris Rud, and Joe Fiedler, with the assistance of Alex Gehrig from Minnesota Waters (now The Freshwater Society) met at the Waterbrooke Church in Victoria in December 2010 forming the Wassermann Lake Association.  These founders,  motivated by their desire to enhance the recreational and aesthetic allure of Wassermann  Lake, and troubled by the lake’s perpetually poor water quality conditions, initiated a quest to mobilize others in the community to take action on our shared interests for a better lake environment.

 

The organizing committee filed applications with the state, making WLA a recognized not-for-profit organization (file #4114755-2) as of Dec. 30, 2010.  Since then, other Wassermann neighbors have contributed in lifting the fledgling association off the ground, participating in lake association development program offered by Minnesota Waters and contributing to the development of the WLA management plan. The association held its first annual meeting Aug. 17th, formally electing officers and board members for the year.  The found board was Joe Fiedler, Dave Robb, Stan Rud, Chris Rud, Jim Ryan and Aaron Traxler. 

 

Current Board Members and Officers are:

President: Stan Rud

Vice-president: Jim Ryan

Treasurer: Mark Schneider ​

Secretary: John Hayes

Director: Gail Berger

Director: Open ​

 

Membership in WLA is comprised of citizens who reside on the lakeshore, as well as members of the local community who have expressed an interest in the impact of lake quality on the enjoyment of the lake and surrounding lands.  Wassermann Lake has the potential to become a significant recreational resource for all residents in the City of Victoria and surrounding area. The association encourages broader participation by citizens in the community beyond the immediate lakeshore.

 

Our mission is to: Restore, Protect & Preserve Wassermann  Lake ​ ​

 

We identified the following long term lake management goals in pursuit of our mission:

• reduce the phosphorous level

• protect and enhance the lake’s and shoreline’s natural environment

• restore the lake’s fisheries to predominately native species ​ ​

 

The priorities and action plans developed in a community input and working session define the specific initiatives and success measures WLA will hold itself accountable to in the near term.  Our top priority is to improve the water clarity, which presently is diminished by frequent and extensive algae blooms.  We have determined that a high level of phosphorous, nearly twice the state’s designated maximum desirable 50 micrograms/liter level, is the primary cause for these blooms.  The lake faces two primary sources contributing to excessive phosphorus level. Area development is increasing the volume of nutrient rich stormwater runoff and an excessively high carp population is agitating phosphorous from the lake bed, which if otherwise were left undisturbed, would contribute substantially lower amounts to the water system.  Thus, our key actions on this issue focus on developing an effective carp management program to control the carp population at a level that has been demonstrated to support overall water quality and encouraging property owners to employ lake-friendly landscaping techniques and complementary storm water run-off reduction strategies, to reduce the volume and nutrient burden of storm waters entering the lake.

 

Click below to view our Lake Management Plan: