Drawdown is a Waste of Time

This letter to the editor, by Pam Fricke, appeared in the Hudson Star Observer on July 2, 2026.

I commend St. Croix County for its effort in reducing phosphorus discharges from the Willow River watershed via Lake Mallalieu by spending roughly $4.4 million over 12 years in projects to reduce runoff from agricultural fields. I appreciate that farmers spent their own money to aid these efforts. Negating much of that progress by letting thousands of cubic yards of phosphorus-laden sediments go into the St Croix River from a Lake Mallalieu drawdown would be fiscally irresponsible.