History

Over the forty years that the Apple Canyon Lake Property Owners Association (ACLPOA) has existed, several grade control structures and silt ponds have been constructed in an effort to decrease the sediment load reaching Apple Canyon Lake.  Since their time of construction, these grade control structures and sediment ponds have disappeared into the scenery as the woody vegetation has prospered over time due to the lack of maintenance.

In 2009, the ACL Conservation Committee set a goal to search and locate all grade control structures and silt ponds that exist on ACL property, and evaluate what maintenance and repairs are needed.  In this effort Henry Doden and Rich Krasula volunteered to search and identify the structure sites for Kyle Embry of the Jo Daviess County Soil and Water Conservation District who would evaluate each site.

In May of 2010, Kyle investigated all sites identified by the search crew.

Most of the structures are in need of some minor repairs while a few are in need of substantial repairs or total reconstruction.  Prioritizing the repairs is at the discretion of the ACLPOA, but he recommends repairing the structures that are in need of less costly repairs before the cost of repair multiplies exponentially while the cost of total reconstruction will remain the same.

It was also recommended after the maintenance repairs be completed to the structures, an Adopt-a-Dry dam Program be created.  As part of this program, volunteer landowners at ACL would be responsible to make sure all woody vegetation is eradicated, report any damage or maintenance required due to storm events or other causes, and ensure the dry dam is functioning properly throughout the year.