Lake Bloomington

Last updated
Lake Bloomington
USA Illinois relief location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Lake Bloomington
Location McLean County, Illinois
Coordinates 40°39′41″N88°56′10″W / 40.66139°N 88.93611°W / 40.66139; -88.93611
Type Man-made lake
Primary inflows Money Creek
Basin  countries United States
Surface area635 acres (257 ha)
Average depth14.5 ft (4.4 m)
Shore length118.5 mi (29.8 km)
Surface elevation719 ft (219 m) [1]
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

Lake Bloomington is located near Hudson, Illinois, United States. Lake Bloomington is a man-made lake, the original purpose of constructing the lake was to supply Bloomington-Normal with a reliable, primary source of water. Lake Bloomington is fed by Money Creek, whose water source is mostly field runoff from around the Towanda area. There was a need for this water supply, extensive research and construction resulted in the project costing more than the expected amount. The lake has 635 acres (257 ha) and 18.5 miles (29.8 km) of shoreline. [2] The average depth of the lake is 14.5 feet (4.4 m).

Contents

History

20th century

Proposal

Due to a typhoid outbreak and a drought in 1920, the community began to consider a new water source. [3] The first meeting to talk about making this water source was held in the 1920s. The meeting included about 10 members and was held at Bloomington City Hall. Egbort Hawk took control of the commission to create Lake Bloomington. The council decided to put out a survey to the people asking who would use the lake for recreational purposes such as swimming, fishing, family activities etc. About 8,500 people responded to the survey saying they would benefit from the lake.

Construction

L. E. Baker owned the land, and sold it to the City Council so the lake could be built. He sold the land per acre at a price of $185 and over 1,200 acres were purchased by the council. The city had to controversially cut down over 50,000 trees to build the lake. [3] Some records suggest they cut down more than what the City Council told the public. The workers used bonfires to clear the dried brush, but the logs were taken out by train. About twenty different species of fish were transported to Lake Bloomington after construction. Some of the fish species were endangered and were transported to the lake in hope of increasing the population.

The first water from Lake Bloomington reached the city reservoir on March 22, 1930. [3] Lake Bloomington was finished in April 1930. By fall, the full opening of the lake was celebrated along with the 100th birthday of McLean County. The official formal dedication was on August 31, 1930. Slightly less than 30% of the visitors were not from Bloomington.

21st century

Lake Bloomington was added to the Illinois list of impaired waters in 2006. [4] Erosion and elevated nitrates and phosphorus are issues. [4]

Recreation

Boating, skiing, and fishing are permitted. [5] The maximum horsepower of motor boats is 40 HP, with a maximum speed of 25 MHP. [6] Crappie fishing is very good with most fish under 10". [7] [8]

Fish Limits: [9]

FISH SIZE                       CREEL LIMITS Large and Smallmouth Bass  Minimum 15” 3 per day Walleye                          Minimum 18” 3 per day Northern Pike                  Minimum 24” 3 per day Hybrid Striped Bass          10 fish daily harvest limit with no more than 3 fish greater than or equal to 17" White, Black or Hybrid Crappie  No Minimum Length 15 per day Bluegill or Redear Sunfish  No Minimum Length 25 per day

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crappie</span> Common name for two species of game fish

Crappies are two species of North American freshwater fish of the genus Pomoxis in the family Centrarchidae (sunfishes). Both species of crappies are popular game fish among recreational anglers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deschutes River</span> River in Oregon, United States

The Deschutes River in central Oregon is a major tributary of the Columbia River. The river provides much of the drainage on the eastern side of the Cascade Range in Oregon, gathering many of the tributaries that descend from the drier, eastern flank of the mountains. The Deschutes provided an important route to and from the Columbia for Native Americans for thousands of years, and then in the 19th century for pioneers on the Oregon Trail. The river flows mostly through rugged and arid country, and its valley provides a cultural heart for central Oregon. Today the river supplies water for irrigation and is popular in the summer for whitewater rafting and fishing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ross Barnett Reservoir</span> Reservoir in Mississippi, U.S.

The Ross Barnett Reservoir, often called the Rez, is a reservoir of the Pearl River between Madison and Rankin counties in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The 33,000-acre (130 km2) lake serves as the state's largest drinking water resource, and is managed by the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District. The lake features 105 miles (169 km) of shoreline impounded on the south by a 3.5-mile (5.6 km) man-made dam and spillway. The western shore is bounded by the historic Natchez Trace Parkway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canadarago Lake</span> Lake in Otsego County, New York, U.S.

Canadarago Lake is a 1,917-acre (7.76 km2) lake located in Otsego County, New York and is the source of Oaks Creek. The Village of Richfield Springs is located at the lake's northern end. It is the second largest lake in Otsego County, lying to the west of and parallel to the larger Otsego Lake. The lake's name is also spelled "Candajarago Lake" or "Caniadaraga Lake".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake Oroville</span> Reservoir in Butte County, California, U.S.

Lake Oroville is a reservoir formed by the Oroville Dam impounding the Feather River, located in Butte County, northern California. The lake is situated 5 miles (8 km) northeast of the city of Oroville, within the Lake Oroville State Recreation Area, in the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada. Known as the second-largest reservoir in California, Lake Oroville is treated as a keystone facility within the California State Water Project by storing water, providing flood control, recreation, freshwater releases to assist in controlling the salinity intrusion into the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and protecting fish and wildlife.

Lake Ray Hubbard, formerly Eastern Dallas Lake or Forney Lake, is a freshwater impoundment (reservoir) located in Dallas, Texas in the counties of Dallas, Kaufman, Collin, and Rockwall, just north of the City of Forney. It was created by the construction of the Rockwall-Forney Dam, which impounded the East Fork Trinity River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake Berryessa</span> Reservoir in California, United States

Lake Berryessa is the largest lake in Napa County, California. This reservoir in the Vaca Mountains was formed following the construction of the Monticello Dam on Putah Creek in the 1950s. Since the early 1960s, this reservoir has provided water and hydroelectricity to the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake Conway</span> Lake in Arkansas, United States of America

Lake Conway is a 6,700-acre (27 km2) lake in Arkansas. Lake Conway is the largest lake ever created by a state wildlife commission and the first to be created by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. Lake Conway is located directly east of Mayflower, Arkansas, and just a few miles southeast of Conway, Arkansas. Lake Conway is home to many major sportfish such as bass, bluegill, crappie, blue catfish, and flathead catfish. Lake Conway's average depth is 4.5 ft and at its deepest point 16 ft. Lake Conway was constructed in 1948.The lake was created by damming Palarm Creek. The lake is currently being drained as of November 2023 for silt remediation and modification of the aging dam spillway gates. The lake is currently slated to be empty for 5 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clinton Lake (Illinois)</span> Reservoir near Clinton, Illinois, USA

Clinton Lake is a 4,900 acres (19.8 km2) reservoir located near Clinton, Illinois. The lake is a part of the Clinton Lake State Recreation Area, which encompasses 9,300 acres (37.6 km2). It was built in the 1970s as a cooling source for the Clinton Nuclear Generating Station. The lake opened in 1978.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake Springfield</span> Reservoir in Springfield, Illinois

Lake Springfield is a 3,965-acre (16.05 km2) reservoir on the southeast edge of the city of Springfield, Illinois. It is 560 ft (170 m) above sea level. The lake was formed by building Spaulding Dam across Sugar Creek, a tributary of the Sangamon River. It is the largest municipally-owned body of water in Illinois. The lake and the lands adjoining it are all owned by City Water, Light & Power, the municipal utility for the city of Springfield, which operates the Dallman Power Plant at the lake's north end. Multiple city parks border its shores.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake Altus-Lugert</span> Lake in Oklahoma, United States

Lake Altus-Lugert, also known as Lake Altus, Lake Lugert, Lake Lugert-Altus, and Lugert Lake, is a reservoir located on the North Fork Red River, about 17 miles (27 km) north of Altus, Oklahoma on the former site of the town of Lugert, Oklahoma. The river is the boundary between Greer County and Kiowa County, Oklahoma. The lake is used for fishing, boating, swimming, and irrigation. This is also the principal water supply for Altus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rough River Lake</span> Reservoir in Kentucky, United States

The Rough River Lake is a Y-shaped reservoir located in Breckinridge, Hardin, and Grayson counties in Kentucky, United States, about 70 miles southwest of Louisville. This lake was created by the building of a dam, begun in 1955 and completed in 1961, 89.3 miles (143.7 km) above the connection between the Rough River and the Green River. The land and water, along with the wildlife, fisheries, and recreational activities, are all managed under the cooperation of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Commonwealth of Kentucky. A primary attraction is Rough River Dam State Resort Park.

William W. Powers State Recreation Area is an Illinois state park administered by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources on 580 acres (230 ha) in the Hegewisch community area of the City of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The area includes 419 acres (170 ha) of water in Wolf Lake that provides about 6 miles (10 km) of shoreline to fishermen. The park hosts about half a million visitors annually. The park contains numerous species, and is one of the most important biological sites in the Chicago region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silver Springs State Fish and Wildlife Area</span> Park in Kendall county, Illinois, US

Silver Springs State Fish and Wildlife Area is an Illinois state park on 1,350 acres (550 ha) in Kendall County, Illinois, United States. The park was established in the late 1960s and is named for the natural spring within its boundaries. The park has two artificial lakes and the Fox River flows through the northern end of the park. Silver Springs hosts a variety of activities including fishing, hunting, boating and hiking. The park has areas of native prairie restoration, a sledding hill and a seven-mile (11 km) equestrian trail. The prairie restoration areas hold many species of plants including lead plant, and purple coneflower.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boomer Lake</span> Reservoir in Oklahoma, United States

Boomer Lake is located in the city of Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States, and was completed in 1925. The lake, as an artificial reservoir created by damming Boomer Creek, serves several purposes such as cooling the local power plant and providing entertainment and recreation. Boomer Lake has a surface area of 251 acres (1,020,000 m2), watershed area of 8,954 acres (36,240,000 m2), shoreline length of 8.6 miles (13.8 km), shoreline development ratio of 4.17, and mean depth of 9.7 feet (3.0 m). The lake was designed to contain 3,600 acre-feet (4,400,000 m3) in 1932, but in 2010 the capacity was reportedly only 1,484 acre-feet (1,830,000 m3).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Griffy Lake</span> Reservoir in Indiana, United States

Griffy Reservoir, commonly known as Lake Griffy, is a reservoir in the city of Bloomington, Indiana. Created by a dam on Griffy Creek in the 1920s, the reservoir used to serve as the main source of drinking water for Bloomington for several decades, until that role was taken over by the larger Lake Lemon and Lake Monroe in the 1950s.

Kirby Lake is a 740-acre man-made reservoir located on the south side of Abilene, Texas, just east of Highway 83, in the northeastern portion of Taylor County. Kirby Lake is within the Brazos River Basin, meaning that Cedar Creek, which feeds Kirby Lake, eventually feeds into the Brazos River. Kirby Lake resides in the Red Prairies portion of the Central Great Plains ecoregion. Management is under the City of Abilene.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grand Tower Island</span>

Grand Tower Island is a river island in the Mississippi River in the midwestern United States, within the state of Missouri on its border with the state of Illinois. Formed within recorded history by the movement of the river, it consists of a bulge-shaped piece of land between the river's primary channel and an oxbow lake. Land on the island is generally valuable for farming, especially when protected from flooding, while the lake has developed a reputation as a valuable sport-fishing location.

Lake Jacksonville is a 442 acres (179 ha) reservoir located in Morgan County in the U.S. state of Illinois. Located 4 miles (6.4 km) southeast of Jacksonville, it provides drinking water and recreational opportunities to the central Illinois city. The reservoir drains into Big Sandy Creek, a tributary of the Illinois River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leggets Lake (Waterford Township, Michigan)</span> Lake in the state of Michigan, United States

Leggett Bay is located in Waterford Township, Michigan, United States. The 25-acre bay within Lake Oakland (Michigan) lies north of Walton Blvd. near Clintonville Rd. At its deepest point, the bay is 10 feet deep.

References

  1. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Lake Bloomington
  2. "Lake Bloomington". Lake Bloomington. Retrieved 2015-01-25.
  3. 1 2 3 Kemp, Bill (2009-04-01). "03/16/08: Large logging project constructed Lake Bloomington". pantagraph.com. Retrieved 2024-03-30.
  4. 1 2 "Lake Bloomington, Illinois | National Fish Habitat Partnership". www.fishhabitat.org. Retrieved 2024-03-30.
  5. "Lake Bloomington". City of Bloomington. Retrieved 2024-03-30.
  6. "Lake Rules". Lake Bloomington Association. Retrieved 2020-01-20.
  7. "Lake Profile -- BLOOMINGTON, LAKE". IDNR Illinois. Retrieved 2015-01-25.
  8. "Lake Profile -- LAKE BLOOMINGTON". www.ifishillinois.org. Retrieved 2024-03-30.
  9. "Fishing | City of Bloomington, Illinois". City of Bloomington. Retrieved 2020-01-20.