Residents are warned to avoid a taped off area on the north side of Swan Lake — west of the city of Silver Lake — near the boat landing. A nearby tile drain has broken and a crew was in the area Friday morning to fix it..
“For your safety, please do not unload your boats, swim, wade or walk near the area as the ground may be washing away,” reads a statement from the McLeod County Sheriff’s Office.
McLeod County Sheriff Scott Rehmann said that as of Wednesday, the lake had drained two to four feet, and that as of Thursday morning, there were reports of the shoreline growing 10 feet out.
He said reports as to the origin of the drain tile vary. Some place its creation in the Depression era, and others say a farmer installed it later.
“It’s tied into the drainage system that ultimately ties into the ditch north of Swan Lake,” he said. “That’s where it has been draining into.”
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and county staff are working together.
“The solution will be to seal it again,” Rehmann said. “They are trying to formulate a plan as far as sealing it off. What end do you plug first?”
He said the hole itself is creating a trench that is 12 to 14 inches wide. As of midweek, it was 5 to 6 feet long, and more than 10 feet deep.
“You don’t want to go out there, you could fall into it and potentially drown,” Rehmann said.
Friday morning, Litzau Excavating of Lester Prairie had arrived and was pouring cement to seal the tile. At about 11 a.m., a worker said the drainage had stopped.
