Walton Lake to be partially drained to allow for replacing golf cart bridge

FAIRFIELD – The City of Fairfield plans to lower the water level in Walton Lake this summer to replace a golf cart bridge that failed an inspection.

The bridge is an integral part of Walton Club’s golf course since it connects the clubhouse to the first tee. In March 2024, the engineering firm Calhoun-Burns & Associates of West Des Moines inspected the bridge and, after finding structural deficiencies, recommended closing it. The firm rated the bridge a zero on its 0-9 scale, which means “Failed Condition – Out of service and beyond repair.”

The council held meetings in 2024 where members discussed different options for replacing the bridge, and ultimately settled on building a causeway. The city will remove the existing bridge and abutments and replace them with an earthen dam with a 10-foot wide top, eight 42-inch pipes and granular surfacing for the golf carts, according to a summary of the project prepared by Fairfield City Engineer and Public Works Director Melanie Carlson.

Two companies bid on the project, Drish Construction of Fairfield and Leffler Dirtwork of Oskaloosa, with Drish’s bid coming in at just under $200,000 while Leffler’s came in at about $340,000. On March 24, 2025, the council voted to award the contract to Drish Construction, and the contract was formally signed on April 2, 2025.

ALTERNATIVES

In the summer of 2024, the council had French-Reneker-Associates investigate three options to replace the bridge, in addition to the option of “doing nothing.” The city’s lease agreement with Walton Club states that the city is responsible for all bridges on the property, so the “doing nothing” option would entail breaking the lease, plus the city would assume additional liability from forcing golf carts to travel on public roads such as the nearby 200th Street (Walton Road).

The three options French-Reneker investigated were rebuilding the bridge, turning it into a causeway with culverts, and widening 200th Street to accommodate the golf carts. At the time, the culvert system was the cheapest of these, with an estimated cost without contingencies of $147,000, compared to replacing the bridge, estimated to cost $264,000, and widening 200 th Street, estimated to cost $194,000.

Carlson’s summary report also lists pros and cons of each option. For instance, the pros of the culvert system are that it will have the longest lifespan, will have no width limit and no minimum weight restrictions, while the cons are that it requires significant hauling of dirt, thus damaging the course, requiring the lake to be lowered, and requiring DNR dam safety and flood plain permits.

One of the benefits listed for reconstructing the bridge is that it could be completed without draining the lake, but for a higher cost estimate than the $264,000 in the report. The downsides of bridge reconstruction are that its maximum life is 50 years, the width of the bridge and allowable weight would be limited, would need to be inspected every four years, and that the lake would still need to be lowered if it were to meet the budget.

The pros of widening the street are that it would mean minimal damage to the course and have a long lifespan, but the cons are that it would be a significant liability, would require the lake to be drained, is not ideal for the current course layout and would require continuous maintenance for dust control.

OBJECTIONS

After the council voted to approve the contract with Drish Construction in March, several Fairfield residents have spoken at subsequent council meetings in opposition to the project. Some of them have argued that the culvert system was not the cheapest option, and that the width and weight limits are not important because the bridge only needs to hold golf carts. Others have objected to the fact that the city’s plan involves lowering the lake and the harm this will do to the fish and aquatic life, plus preventing the lake from being used for recreation such as kayaking and fishing this summer.

Tom Terrien, who lives in the Walton Subdivision, spoke at Monday night’s council meeting and said that he sent an email to his council member Terri Kness last year in which he expressed concerns about the project, saying, “The last thing we want is a lot of dead fish.”

“The main thing I wanted was not to see the lake drained,” he said.

Terrien said he did not feel that he was included in the conversation, and didn’t know that the council was leaning toward replacing the bridge with a causeway/culvert system.

Vesna Glavina told the council that its plan to drain the lake was a “death sentence” for tens of thousands of creatures, and claimed that there was a cheaper option available that did not involve draining the lake. She said that the “massive fish kill” was not part of the council’s discussion.

James Sinton said that draining the lake this summer would hurt the lake’s ecology so badly that it would take 15-20 years to replace.

“Once this web of life is destroyed, it has to be rebuilt before the thousands of species, including fish and birds, that depend on that web, can be sustained in and by the lake,” Sinton wrote in a statement submitted to the council before the meeting.

David Runion said Walton Lake is his favorite place to fish, and he’s sad to learn that this project is going to ruin one of his favorite recreational activities. Plus, he added that it’s going to put a strain on the city if it is responsible for replacing the water necessary to irrigate the golf course.

Ed Noyes said the problems associated with irrigating the golf course were not known until recently, and that there was a lower-cost option to replace the bridge that was overlooked in the planning process.

After these residents spoke, Mayor Connie Boyer told them that the city already had a signed contract with Drish Construction, and that it would cost the city a lot of money to back out of the contract now.

Council member Doug Flournoy suggested creating an ad hoc committee to address the concerns raised by the residents of the Walton Subdivision, and that motion was unanimously approved. The first meeting of this Walton Lake Committee will be at 6:15 p.m. Thursday, June 12 at the Walton Club.

EFFECT ON WALTON LAKE

The Union reached out to Carlson, City Administrator Doug Reinert and Mayor Boyer for clarification on the project and its effects on Walton Lake and the golf course. Carlson responded by saying that the elevation of the lake can vary by about 2.5 feet depending on the amount of rain received, but could confirm that the lake will have to be lowered 11.5 feet from its normal elevation of 728.5 feet above sea level. As of press time Wednesday, the three officials had not responded to a question about the effect of lowering the lake on fish and aquatic life, but The Union will publish more information on this matter as it becomes available.

Carlson said the entire project is expected to take 75 days, which includes 14 days to lower the lake, 30 days to let it dry to the point a contractor can work, then 30 days to complete the work.

“Of course, it will take some time for the lake to fill back up, which is weather-dependent,” Carlson said. “Also, if rain is received during the 75 days, the contractor may need additional days for things to dry.”

The city is waiting to receive approval from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, which it hopes to receive soon and can then begin drawing down the lake within a week. Carlson said she expects the lake to begin filling back up around Labor Day, but that depends on the weather.

Carlson also confirmed that the Walton Club uses the lake to irrigate the golf course, and the city is proposing supplementing Walton Club with potable (drinking) water during construction.

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Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com

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