For the first time in recent years, the Rice Lake Recreation Service District brought good news to the Ward County Commission Tuesday.

The lake’s level is up only about a third of a foot this spring, compared to the one-foot rise that has been typical in the spring, Jarid Lundeen with the district’s association said Tuesday. A monitoring system installed by the state last year showed the lake level dropped through last fall, he said.

“We are working hard on stabilizing this lake so it can be a gem of Ward County again,” he said.

Many residents along the lake have experienced severe flooding since 2011. Some inundated properties were unrecoverable.

Lundeen, who is overseeing an association project to clean up flood debris and protect infrastructure, also brought mostly positive news on that front.

Of the $2 million provided by the state, only about $204,000 was spent to assist with removing flood debris from the lake, he said. That leaves $1.7 million to secure roads and the sewer system from the higher water.

The plan is to raise the sewer lift stations to about 1-1/2 feet above the level at which the lake begins draining through its natural outlet. The sanitary sewer was never in jeopardy of leaking into the lake, but there has been danger of the lake seeping into the lift stations and compromising the sewer system, Lundeen said.

With the plans to raise and secure the lift stations, he said, “This sewer district will be fully functioning and working like it’s supposed to.”

The association has been raising roads and plans to continue to ensure roads are above flood level and are restored 24-foot widths.

The one kink in the plan is a road near the lake’s outlet that no one claims responsibility for.

A neighboring landowner is denying a road easement to widen the road because of his objection to a proposed culvert. The lake’s natural drainway through the culvert would flood his property.

Lundeen asked the county to exercise eminent domain on the association’s behalf to acquire an easement. The commission had to decline because it doesn’t own the road. The township, while it has contributed to some of the road maintenance, also does not claim ownership of the road.

The association will continue to work with the landowner. Among options are adding fill to the neighbor’s property to eliminate flooding or building the road with steep slopes and guard rails to avoid the need for an easement. Both options are costly and would put pressure on the limited state funds available.