The Board wanted to update our community of an issue that arose over the weekend where the developer of Stillwater, the development to the east of our neighborhood, began pumping water into their lake again. This began on Friday late afternoon and pumping continued through Sunday late morning. This was strategic as it left the Board no contact options over the weekend. We have video evidence of the pumping. This the third time this developer has done this type of pumping. This type of pumping affects our lake level – given the lack of spring precipitation our lake level is already fairly low and this is before the irrigation season. This could cause dock and lift access issues later this summer. The short term impact was our lake level was reduced between 2 to 3 inches over the weekend.
We immediately contacted the NRD on Monday to discuss whether a permit was obtained. The response we got is they would follow up and get back to us. This morning (Tuesday), our Board members plus a few of our neighbors met with members of the City of Valley administration to discuss our concerns about the pumping, as we believe this pumping is illegal, and the only purpose that can be approved is if they need to remove water for infrastructure projects in the development. We provided our video evidence of the pumping. The team we met with was very helpful, led by the City Administrator Cameron Gales, as they listened to our concerns and got back to us with a plan of action this evening. First, they did determine that the pumping from the well directly into their lake would have been illegal, even if they had a permit, because there was no authorized / approved infrastructure projects occurring. The steps they are taking:
1) Will reach out to the developer via phone to discuss
2) Sending a certified letter to the developer requesting whether any permit (we have asked for a copy) from the NRD (nothing was requested to the City)
3) Also included, letting the developer know that this type of pumping is not allowed, ever! (Infrastructure related only)
4) In addition, letting the developer know that if it does occur, that the developer will be charged (criminal vs civil – not mentioned)
The Board will continue to be in contact with both the City and NRD. We have also discussed reaching out to the other lake communities near Valley to let them know what has occurred, in case we continue to have issues with this developer.
Since the Board has been in contact with the City, they have asked the Board to relay information to our residents in regards to any update.
The Board ask is to let us know if you see any further pumping activity on the Stillwater property.
Once we hear back from either the City or the NRD we will communicate any updates!
Respectfully,
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Bob Sindelar – President