Water in various states

Although we had about three inches of snow yesterday and last night -- and Tom spent an hour or so clearing the drive and walks --, the big water-related news here is that they plan to start refilling Lake Delton this week. The picture on the side there shows the "lake" as of this past week. Lots of people came to walk on the lake bottom this summer, and quite a few got stuck in the muck. But the chance to take that risky walk is coming to an end.

The road and dam repairs are completed, and now the disappearing lake can begin to reappear. It should be full well before the tourist season begins next May.

The state Department of Transportation began planning what has become a $5.1 million fix-it project in the days after the storms. Contractors built a new dam in front of the breach to stop the creek that feeds Lake Delton from Mirror Lake from rushing through the chasm. They filled in a section of the breach, reinforced it with a clay wall and laid 650 feet of new county highway across the top. Meanwhile, workers renovated the Lake Delton dam, improving its spillways and gates to allow more water to pass through. Diehl said the dam should now be able to withstand a 1,000-year storm.

All that's left is for the lake itself to return. State and local officials plan to close the Mirror Lake and Lake Delton dams perhaps as early as Wednesday to trap carp in standing ponds on Lake Delton's basin. They will apply a toxic chemical to the fish, wiping them out so more desirable species will have a better chance to survive when they're restocked this summer. Then they will open the Mirror Lake dam, but keep the Lake Delton dam closed, allowing Dell Creek to again fill Lake Delton.

Andy Morton, state Department of Natural Resources lower Wisconsin River basin supervisor, estimates the lake should fill by May.

Resort owners already are looking forward to spring. Eck, of Wilderness on the Lake, said his company plans to promote refill watching to attract winter guests. The resort also plans to invite every June 9, 2008, guest to stay on that date in 2009 for free. "It's an ideal thing for a family to come back and say, 'Wow, what a difference a year later,"' Eck said.

Right now, though, the lake is still a bleak sight. Scrub brush has taken over the basin, and a recent dusting of snow left it looking like Alaskan tundra. But state transportation officials opened the new section of highway last week, allowing vehicles to circle the lake for the first time since June and giving merchants hope.

"I want to drive over it so bad. I think I'll go back and forth several times," Sunset Bay Resort's Baker said. "It's just the beginning of the end. The lake is going to be full."