The City of Rochester Parks & Recreation Department in partnership with Mayor Kim Norton, will hold a community meeting on April 6 beginning at 6:30 p.m. at the Development Services & Infrastructure Center (DSIC), which is located at 4001 West River Pkwy. Those who plan to attend should enter the Police Department entrance. Members of the City team will highlight details of the proposed project, which is one of the City’s legislative priorities, and be available for questions.

Park Board President Linnea Archer shares, “We invite all members of the community to join us for this gathering. Silver Lake Park is a treasure of the community and of our park system. The ongoing commitment and passion to this public place is shared by the Park Board, Parks & Recreation Department, and City of Rochester. We know residents and visitors share in that sentiment as well. It is our hope that this meeting will provide greater clarity on the various aspects of the proposed project and their intended outcomes.”

Sediment removal in Silver Lake is needed to adhere to Army Corps of Engineers and flood mitigation requirements. Silver Lake was last dredged 25 years ago. In order to maintain the hydraulic profile of the channel and the effectiveness of the flood control system, 200,000 cubic yards of material will be removed and deposited at a reservoir site eight miles west of Rochester. The sediment is largely generated from agricultural areas outside of Rochester. An integrated project includes removal of the 1937 Silver Lake Dam and replaces it with a 400 foot channel of cascading pools, which expands various recreational activities.

This approach aligns with other efforts from the Department of Natural Resources to restore water bodies to more natural pathways by removing traditional dams. This modification maintains major flood elevations, allows the remainder of Silver Lake to remain in place upstream, provides unobstructed passage for fish and aquatic animals, and increases recreational uses like canoeing and kayaking.

In addition to the dam modification, the project incorporates pedestrian features including a bridge and pedestrian trail. These improvements would provide for a needed safer pedestrian crossings of Silver Lake/Zumbro River. It would also provide connections to other trails and improve access to Silver Lake Park trail use including walking, running and biking.

Specific park improvement features are being informed by a community-driven master planning process, which will begin in the coming weeks. More information about the proposed project, as well as the other legislative priorities can be found here.