Lake Crystal Watershed map will be located in
downtown Lake Crystal, MN
In the community of Lake Crystal, Minnesota, generations of cherished lakeside memories were fading in direct correlation to the the increase of toxic algae blooms.
Aside from making the water look sickly green and slimy, the toxins produced by cyanobacteria can seriously affect a person's digestive and central nervous systems.
So, the citizens quit going to the town beach.
Crystal Lake is fed by a number of drainage ditches. The water then drains to Minneopa Creek, which flows to the Minnesota River, which flows to the Mississippi River, which then flows way on down to the Gulf of Mexico. Blue Earth County's Drainage Management website states: "County ditches were constructed to drain land and to collect water quickly and efficiently to provide better soil conditions and increase land available for the production of crops. Blue Earth County has over 100 ditches, with over 160 miles of open ditches and over 500 miles of tile systems." That's a lot of manmade drainage!
Pause for a bit and think about the water you used today.
Was it mechanically filtered so you could safely drink it? Was it naturally filtered so you could safely eat the fish from it? How do those filters work? At what point do those filters fail to work properly?
Enter Crystal Waters Project. Founded in 2012, the non-profit organization's mission is "to improve water quality in the Crystal Lake Watershed through education, collaboration and action." Working with a wide variety of local and state agencies as well as other groups, Crystal Waters Project has integrated multiple approaches to improve the lake's water quality, including:
Experimental aeration
Removal of carp/bullhead fish, stocking with walleye and blue gill
Encouraging cover crops and buffer strip maintenance
Installing the first phosphorus removal system in the state
and hosting countless educational activities!
A lot of great educational signage has been placed around town and the lake, giving all users the opportunity to learn, no matter the season. But the group was inspired to incorporate an additional approach. They commissioned the compass + map art piece with the intention of providing a tactile, interactive connection to their watershed. The compass establishes directional orientation and the slight offset between the map and the base allows tracing the creeks and gives depth to the lakes. The curved base support represents the flow of water.
A few years and many volunteers have greatly improved Lake Crystal's water quality. But equally important is the sense of community and shared responsibility for the town's most important resource: its watershed. The foundation has been laid for the next generation of cherished lakeside memories.
I grew up on the high plains east of the Rocky Mountains. I understood that most of our water came from snowmelt in the mountains and that it was directed to our farm fields via a series of manmade dams and irrigation canals. Generations of "irrigation farmers" in that landscape have walked their ditches twice a day: once to set siphon tubes that let water run down each row, then back later in the day to take the tubes out.
It is by this old technology that crops such as corn, beans, potatoes and sugar beets are grown in that area. Center pivot sprinklers are the technological improvement to siphon tubes, which is why you see all those green circles when you fly over high plains country.
When I moved to Blue Earth County, Minnesota, I was dumbfounded when I learned that farmers here dig ditches and install tubing to GET RID OF water! It seriously took me a number of years to get used to seeing fields of corn and beans WITHOUT irrigation equipment!
We were crestfallen when we took our kids to our very first Minnesota lake. All of the fabulous summer photos we'd seen from the Land of 10,000 Lakes did not prepare us for the goopy green guck that greeted us that day. We now know that is called an "algae bloom" and that for each lake it might happen under certain conditions at varying times of the year.
I continue to learn more about this water system that is so different from where I grew up. Understanding that the majority of us take our water for granted, I was inspired to create my first watershed map "Mahkato Mni: Waters of Blue Earth." That work was brought to the attention of the Crystal Waters Project board, who were immediately interested in having one made for the city of Lake Crystal.
I am honored that I had the opportunity to bring my original idea to life, and even more so that it inspired the community of Lake Crystal to see how this work could add value to their cherished watershed for generations to come.
About me:
I am an Industrial Arts advocate and novice CNC designer. I have made a number of public art pieces for my hometown, but this is the first one I have made for a neighboring city!
The toughest part of this particular CNC design was spacing the single line cut letters that flow along the rivers. I believe these are the absolute smallest single line cut letters I have ever done...and there were a lot of them!
I struggled to settle on how the base for this one should work, but my new fabricator Justin nudged me in a direction for the design, and he chose the right materials to make the structure subtle yet strong and stable. If you need any metal work done, contact Justin at Dualway Metal Works!
Designed on Inkscape.
CNC plasma cut. Top from 14 gauge sheet steel, base from 1/4" plate steel.
Powder coat: Cobalt Blue and sparkly Silver. Thanks to the crew at Associated Finishing for another fabulous paint job!
I'll share photos when it gets to it's final installation space in downtown Lake Crystal.
Thank you for your curiosity!
Julie Dempster
Mnišota mní wakáŋ heča.
Mahkato mní wakáŋ heča.
Takomni mní teuŋhiŋdapi če’e.
"Minnesota water is sacred.