History
1980s
1980 Association formed with 22 families. Ken Campbell, Lee Keeley, Don Patterson, and Lee Wallace were original members and are still active members 30 years later with over 150 contributing families in the association and a mail list of nearly 300 in 2010.
1981 Founders Lee Wallace, Ken Campbell and Lee Keeley established by-laws, articles of incorporation, and first Board of Directors. Meeting with Freshwater Institute to become a Pilot Lake.
1997: New Luce Line bridge installed
1983 Gleason Lake established as a Pilot Lake for water clarity and preservation. Harsh winter killed most of fish in the lake.
1984 Lake-wide aeration and weed management initiated. Eight of 24 aerators were installed and fish re-stocked.
1985 Mechanical harvesting of lake. Damn repaired.
1986 Lost most stocked fish from 1984. DNR would not let aerators be run until ice was 9" thick and by that time oxygen was too low to recover and save fish.
1987 Water reached a low of 4 ft below dam level in August.
1988 First year for chemical weed control
1989 Lake posted regarding Eurasian Milfoil threat.
1990s
1992 Board works with MCWD and DNR to alter dam and lake levels through Gleason Creek project.
1993 Chemical weed control continues and water quality steadily improves.
1994 New dam built by MCWD with GLIA assistance. First carp appears on lake due to dam work. Holding pond on north end of lake approved.
1995 First "Day on the Lake" held for members to celebrate completion of new dam and a holding pond on north bay which will keep contaminants from flowing into the lake.
1996 Second "Day on the Lake." Board voted for 8 ice vents to eliminate open water (a hazard on the lake). The ice vent goes over an aerator, diffuses the air flow downward and oxygenates the lake. After another harsh winter, the aerators worked to preserve fish population. By-laws revised.
1997 Loosestrife eradication program using beetles. New Luce Line bridge installed.
1998 Eurasian milfoil eradication program initiated; spot treatments continue with MidWest AquaCare. Lake Management Plan initiated with Emmons & Oliver.
2000s
2007: City of Plymouth rain garden demonstration
2000-2003 Curly Leaf Pondweed (CLP) eradication with DNR.
2003 Luce Line rain garden completed for zero runoff demonstration with Fortin Consulting.
2001-2003 Aquatic plant survey reveals:
- 3.89 miles of lakeshore
- 160 acres of water area plus Adjacent 14 acre wetland
- Maximum depth of 16 feet
- Average depth 5-10 feet
- Volume: 400 million gallons
- Gleason Lake Watershed: 3,900 acres, located primarily (95%) in Plymouth, with portions in Minnetonka and Wayzata. Involves an estimated 3,000 homes.
- High Phosphorous concentration results in blue-green algae blooms in late summer. The health of Gleason Lake affects Lake Minnetonka (Wayzata Bay), Minnehaha Creek, and the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico.
2008: Skimmer behind Gleason Lake townhomes on north end
2003 Final Lake Management Plan done with Emmons-Oliver
2004 Protect water quality with Best Management Practices (BMPs) initiated:
- Clean sweep debris in streets and driveways
- Clean up after your pet.
- Install rain gardens to filter water into the soil
- Keep pollutants out of storm drains
- Use zero Ph fertilizer and maintain a buffer on the lake
- Direct downspouts away from hard surfaces, filter into soil
2009: Stormwater holding pond restored at Hwy 6 and W. of Garland
2007 City of Plymouth street maintenance around Gleason Lake west side with improved storm drains and rain gardens installed.
2008 CIP & MCWD with GLIA improved holding ponds on CR 6 and Garland Lane and just north of Gleason Lake townhomes, nicknamed "The Big Dig."
2007 - 2011 Five Year Contract with DNR, MCWD and GLIA to study effects of whole lake herbicide treatment (Aquathol K) to control Curly Leaf Pondweed (CLP). Final reports indicate greatly reduced plant growth with herbicide treatment. The Fish Survey shows a good and healthy population (see report under management).
In 2007-08-09, 140 acres of the total 160 lake acres were sprayed; in 2010, 27 acres; and in 2011, 16 acres.
2009: Harvesting vegetation north end of Gleason. This is an expensive and short term "fix." Minimum 16 hours at $200/hour.
2012 GLIA members will maintain the CLP program. We need to raise funds (approx. $20,000 / year) to support this endeavor. Even though Curlyleaf Pondweed and Eurasian Milfoil have been minimized on the lake, the native Coontai and white lillipadsl have run rampant to nusiance proportion for boaters.