Another Go at the Bradley Lake Restoration Project

Bradley Lake, also known as Little Lake, was once so pristine that it was called “Crystal Lake.” Not anymore. But the city is trying to change that.

Bradley Lake, also referred to as Little Lake, is that body of water that starts where Alabama Street and 3rd Avenue North intersect in Sturgeon Bay at the edge of Sunset Park. 

During the mid-19th century, before it became a dumping ground for the Bradley-Crandall Sawmill operations that began in 1853, it was known as Crystal Lake – a tribute to the clear, spring-fed water within it. Its shores, which extended from Alabama Street to Georgia Street, were home to pine trees, and its water flourished with a variety of fish. 

Over the course of the next century and a half, the lake underwent significant changes, including shifting water levels, continued filling from lumberyards and a mill, and in 1929, purchase by the city. By that time, it had become a bog that contaminated a nearby beach and groundwater. 

For decades, stormwater runoff from the neighborhood to the north drained directly into the lake, carrying with it fertilizer, phosphorus and other nutrients that led to a massive algal bloom. Large flocks of Canada geese also contributed to the nutrient loading. The pond scum and odor, as well as occasional fish kills, made the lake unpleasant to be around during low-water conditions. 

Since then, Lake Michigan’s high water levels have seeped in, deepening the normally shallow water body and helping to mitigate water-quality issues. 

More than a century and a half after Little Lake lost its pristine condition, the City of Sturgeon Bay is trying to fulfill a restoration project that began in 2016. A first phase of that project created engineered wetlands south and east of the lake, where stormwater drains from Alabama, Delaware and Georgia streets were routed instead of directly into the lake. 

The latest movement was the Feb. 1 approval of a $42,500 contract with Foth Infrastructure and Environment for project management, final design and specifications, bidding, and contract award for the restoration work that would be done on the east side of the lake. 

Mike Barker, city municipal services director, said they’re working with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to keep an already approved grant to do the actual work. 

“This is under a tight timeline,” Barker said, because they need the grant submitted by the end of September; and prior to that, there must be a 30-day public-notice period; and then it could take another 60 days for DNR approval. 

The city budgeted $400,000 for the project in 2022 because the grant requires upfront payment for the entire project, but the grant would return $200,000 to the city. 

The project would build up the shoreline on the east side of Bradley Lake – the North 3rd Avenue side – by taking some of the sludge, silt and decayed matter from a portion of the lake bottom using equipment from shore. The grant will also fund aquatic plantings and the improvement of the small wetland area that was constructed during the project’s first phase.

Eventually, all of the sludge, silt and decaying matter will be completely dredged from the lake’s bottom, but not with this project.

“There’s a lot of unknowns on that lake on what’s going on in the bottom,” said Alder Spencer Gustafson. “Though this is a smaller step, it might be a start to bigger actions.” 

“I’m happy to start, but it doesn’t have an end,” said Alder Gary Nault. “Too many studies, the DNR, the university, armchair engineers: It’s time to roll up our sleeves and get it done. It has potential to be a great gem in our city.”