On Delavan Lake, researchers study a water quality revival
Released: June 9, 2004
What’s the economic value of a clean, clear Wisconsin lake? And how does that value change when pollution, nuisance weeds and exotic species take their toll?
Delavan Lake in Walworth County may be one of the few places that holds answers to both questions. The 2,072 acre lake, long a mecca for families and retired people from the Chicago area, has undergone a transformation in water quality over the last 15 years, thanks to aggressive community and agency efforts to rehabilitate the lake.
In the wake of those changes, a new project this summer between the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and the Delavan Lake Improvement Association (DLIA) will attempt to make some clear links between a healthy lake and a growing economy.
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, the lake was in dire environmental straits from carp infestation, sewage discharges, phosphorous runoff and exotic weeds. But a rehabilitation project from 1990-1992 achieved results by virtually draining the lake, killing carp and restocking game fish, restoring wetlands and ending private septic tanks on lakefront property. The result has been a huge improvement in water clarity.
By comparing the pre- and post-restoration statistics about Delavan Lake, the researchers will attempt to show how the changes affected property values, lake usage and retail spending around the lake. They will also attempt to forecast what the Delavan Lake community would lose financially if conditions returned to the pre-1990 state.
“This rehabilitation was a dramatic event,” said economics department chair Mark Skidmore, one of the UW-Whitewater consultants. “We can draw some inferences from that event, based on the water quality change. We think we’ll see changes in people’s property values and people’s willingness to buy property on the lake.”
Skidmore and fellow UW-Whitewater economics professors Russ Kashian and Mark Eiswerth hope to make statistically valid conclusions by comparing economic data from Delavan Lake with similar nearby lakes, such as Beulah and Lauderdale lakes, that didn’t undergo such major interventions.
The team also will survey lake property owners and visitors to get a sense of what they value in the lake — and what might happen if the lake degrades. “Our challenge will be to try to estimate impacts,” Skidmore said. “If X happens, how many fewer boaters will be on the lake? What will happen to property values?”
Don Holst, a lakeside home owner and DLIA member, said he hopes the project can demonstrate the value of a healthy lake to local governments. Portions of the lake fall within the Delavan city and town limits, giving both government units a vested interest.
The lake, with more than 13 miles of shoreline, is home to some prominent landmarks, including the 300-room Lake Lawn Resort, six large Frank Lloyd Wright homes, a private yacht club and several marinas. A typical summer day will produce hundreds of boaters, most of them fishing for bass, panfish or pike. “It’s busy, but not crazy busy,” Holst said. “You don’t have the zip-zip of boats with a lot of wake.”
Dan Lemanski, a fellow association member, said the DLIA is passionate about making sure history doesn’t repeat itself. It worked hard to form a Delavan Lake sanitary district and, just last year, worked to establish a phosphorous fertilizer ban for the township. This spring, Lemanski and Holst traveled to UW-Whitewater’s business college on behalf of the DLIA to seek help on the economic issues.
“People are cognizant of how the lake can be degraded,” Lemanski said. “They try to cooperate.”
Still, the lake faces new challenges: the number of watercraft on the lake has risen by more than 60 percent since 1992, and hundreds of new residences are currently planned on lands draining directly to the lake.
Eiswerth, a fellow economics professor, joined UW-Whitewater in 2003 but brings a long history of environmental economics projects. One recent project looked at the economic damage Eurasian watermilfoil outbreaks were causing to the Lake Tahoe region in northern California, a highly popular recreational area.
This project will be the very first conducted under an Economic Research Center being established by Skidmore, Eiswerth and Kashian. The long-term goal is to provide low-cost consulting and expertise to Wisconsin communities in their urban and regional planning, especially as it relates to Wisconsin’s “Smart Growth” initiative.
This pilot project was partially funded through a $12,500 grant from UW-Whitewater’s Continuing EDvantage program from the Division of Outreach; and the E-Learning Extension of the University of Wisconsin Extension.
- Brian Mattmiller,npa@uww.edu
