SOLUTION SOUGHT TO HORSESHOE LAKE SILTING; PROBLEM TO BE TAKEN UP DEC. 16

OLIVE BRANCH, Ill. -- Horseshoe Lake is filling up with silt at the rate of a half-inch per year, and if something isn't done it could disappear during the next century.

For the past 70 years, runoff has deposited silt and sediment into the 2,400-acre lake, which was shallow to begin with. It averages less than 3 feet, and has only 5 feet of water in its deepest parts.

The situation worsened after major river flooding in 1992, 1994 and 1995, said John Tranquilli of the Benton office of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

"We're still trying to address the silt problem," said Tranquilli. "We do have some preventative plans."

Those plans will be discussed Dec. 16 during a meeting of Illinois Department of Natural Resources officials, Alexander County Commission members and delegates from the 15-member Save Horseshoe Lake Committee. Following the discussions at the DNR offices at Horseshoe Lake, the DNR will hold a public meeting.

During the late 1980s, a lake group approached state Sen. James F. Rea of Christopher about the siltation problem. Part of the problem was subsequently relieved with rehabilitation of a dam and spillway. The dam, which was constructed in 1993-94, included two 4-by-5-foot sliding gates to enable better management of the lake. The structure could be used to prevent flooding on adjacent land if the lake's depth is increased.

The siltation problem is threatening fish habitat.

Horseshoe, a state wildlife refuge, is a Mississippi River ox-bow lake. Until the late 1920s, the small lake held water only during the wet season. When water was there, so were waterfowl, providing great waterfowl hunting.

In 1927 the Illinois Department of Conservation purchased 3,500 acres, including the "island" of the ox-bow and most of the lake. The department constructed a log dam at the southern end of the lake so it would hold water year-round. A permanent dam was installed 10 years later.

Today, the Horseshoe Lake Wildlife Refuge includes 7,901 acres, including 20 miles of shoreline, and is acclaimed as one of the top goose-hunting areas in the nation.20The lake is home each winter to as many as 250,000 wild geese. As of Dec. 1, 5,200 geese were counted at Horseshoe.