$4.5M spillway replacement first phase of years-long Lake Alvin improvement plan

Watershed renovations next for the Lincoln County recreation area, one of the most polluted lakes in South Dakota

The Lake Alvin spillway was deemed at risk of failing by South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks after it sustained damage in the 2019 flooding and will be replaced next year. (Joe Sneve / The Dakota Scout)

Lake Alvin will soon be getting some much needed care that could someday bring the Lincoln County water recreation area back to life.

But if the vision of cleaning up one of South Dakota’s most polluted water bodies is going to come to fruition, millions of dollars of public investment and multijurisdictional partnerships will be necessary at the 105-acre impoundment, state Game, Fish and Parks (GFP) officials say.

Next summer, the state will begin a multiyear reclamation project at Lake Alvin and the surrounding recreation area when the water is drawn down to allow for the replacement of the spillway on the lake’s east side.

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“When it comes down to it, it is a risk, and it bumps it up the priority list as far as when this gets done,” said Kip Rounds, a GFP aquatic habitat and access biologist. “If it fails, there’s severe human safety risk.”

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The decades-old spillway allows for the controlled release of water in the lake.