“To the Edge”
Peninsula on northeastern side of Delavan Lake, Wisconsin
March 30, 2024
I made this photograph on the northeastern end of Delavan Lake in Wisconsin along Highway 50 in the area known informally as Delavan Inlet. The view is south.
With sunshine reflecting brilliantly off the water, this was another typical right-place-at-the-right-time photo. I did not plan to be there then.
Since obviously the scene would change with the movement of the sun (and particularly if it was obscured by clouds), while driving by I knew I had to stop and do the photography. I did not want the photo to become yet another on a long list of ones I did not make and regret doing so. Oh, guilt is so lovely that it can last a lifetime.
Adjusting my camera settings to expose for detail in the bright water, I knew the other features of the scene would go into silhouette. That was OK, since they would stand out more.
Knowing this photo was made in spring 1991 makes the image even more significant. That January marked the completion of refilling the lake after its level was lowered dramatically in fall 1989 as part of a major project to restore the water quality and remove the dreaded carp and bigmouth buffalo fish.
The project included extensive dredging of the inlet and outlet channels, modifying the outlet dam, using alum to treat the lake, restocking it with game fish, increasing wetlands, and extending the inlet peninsula 1,000 feet.
Although they are small, the two people really make this photo. In fact, I probably would not have made it without them.
They are walking on the peninsula. Symbolically, they add interest because they are exploring not only a new feature of the lake but checking out how it was changed by the water-improvement project.
Obviously, this scene looks much different 33 years later because of the growth of trees and bushes on the peninsula.
Despite the large-scale project, the water quality has fluctuated over the years. The main challenge to consistently high quality is the amounts of phosphorus and nitrogen that drain into the 2,000-acre lake from its large 26,000-acre watershed.
By comparison, 5,300-acre Geneva Lake has a 13,000-acre watershed. Those numbers alone contribute to much better water quality than Delavan Lake.
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