Construction for the dam and spillway at Easter Lake began in 1965. In 1967, Easter Lake was officially opened. As part of the Easter Lake Water Quality Management Plan, it was established that repairs and adjustments to the spillway would be needed to sustain an effective fisheries restoration.
On November 2, 2015 draining of Easter Lake began. Over the course of 10 days, the lake level was lowered 4 feet to update the spillway. As part of infrastructure improvements, the gate valve structure was replaced, and a new fish barrier was installed to prevent undesirable fish (Common Carp and Gizzard Shad) from reentering the lake. Updates to the spillway were completed in late 2015.
Before
The structure of the spillway before improvements were made allowed for easy passage of undesirable fish to reenter Easter Lake.
After
The new fish barrier installed to the spillway will help keep undesirable fish like Common Carp & Gizzard Shad from reentering Easter Lake.