The lake lies at the center of the subdivision and was part of the original construction of the neighborhood in the early 1970’s. The primary source of water is from the storm sewer system. Originally only our neighborhood storm water went to the lake, but MSD added another subdivision to also feed into our lake. We suspect another source of water is from a natural spring. The last time the lake levels were dropped the water level rose even though there was no rainwater to increase the water level.
Dougherty Lake 1983
Originally the lake had no bubblers or lake retaining walls. Unfortunately the properties near the lake experienced a fair amount of erosion and wood landscaping ties were added (by those property owners) to stop the erosion. Without regular water movement the lake often became stagnant and unpleasant. The two bubblers added to the lake restored the health of the water.
Resident Fish Catcher
Our lake is about five acres in size. It is shallow in most areas near the shore, reaching only 12-14 feed deep. The lake contains quite a few Catfish (some very large), Carp, and a lot of Bluegill. It’s not uncommon to see other wildlife on our lake including water snakes, minks, herons, deer, geese, foxes, and ducks.
Due to both safety concerns and insurance requirements no boating, swimming, or skating is allowed on the lake.
The maintainence of the lake and the overflow does require work and in the past a lake committee was formed to address some of those issues. You can read some of the history of the work done on the lake in the Lake History & Issues.