Bde Maka Ska rates strong for water clarity in the Minneapolis chain, but high water and shoreline erosion have periodically dragged down its public-health score.

Bde Maka Ska, the largest lake in the Minneapolis chain and the system's center for swimming, sailing and paddling, has long held a reputation for clear water. The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board's assessments rate it consistently excellent for aesthetics and clarity, with low bacteria levels most of the time.
That clarity is not automatic for an urban lake. It reflects the broad restoration that lifted the whole chain, alum treatments to bind phosphorus, constructed wetlands, storm-sewer work and shoreline rebuilding, layered on the lake's natural advantage as a large, deep, well-mixed basin that resists the worst of summer's algae blooms.
The asterisk on that reputation is erosion. According to the Park Board, high water levels in 2014 increased beach erosion at Bde Maka Ska and may have contributed to elevated E. coli, enough to pull the lake's public-health rating down to "good." A bank that crumbles into the water does not just look worse; it can carry bacteria and sediment straight into the swimming area, tying the lake's clarity to the stability of its shore.
Bacteria also spike with heavy rain. The Park Board tests lake water weekly for E. coli and closes beaches when readings run high, reopening them after resampling shows the level has dropped. In recent wet summers, closures at Bde Maka Ska's North, 32nd Street and Thomas beaches, often alongside beaches at Lake Harriet and Lake Hiawatha, have followed periods of heavy rainfall.
The forward question is whether wetter, flashier weather will test that reputation harder, which is what makes the Park Board's shoreline-stabilization work a quiet investment in the clear water the neighborhood takes for granted.

Hennepin County is expected to bring its final design for rebuilding Lyndale Avenue South to the Minneapolis City Council this month, after a June 1 public meeting where Uptown business owners and cyclists clashed over a plan that adds a bikeway and cuts about a quarter of on-street parking.

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The Lowry Hill Neighborhood Association board meets the first Tuesday of each month, 7 to 9 p.m., at the Searle Mansion, 1915 Logan Ave. S., where parks requests, traffic concerns and land-use notices get aired.

For the first time in years, the Hennepin Avenue corridor through Uptown heads into summer without an active construction zone, the rebuilt street now served by the METRO E Line that began carrying riders in December.