Willow Pond Beach Closing

There was a recent news item involving a closed beach in the Middle Fork River Forest Preserve from the News-Gazette on Saturday:

What needs changing at Champaign County's only beach?
...
"The last several years, we have noticed severe levels dropping in the pond," Kuntz said. "We had an engineer's study done. It was found there were leaks. The floor had degraded."

Kuntz said the pond is 40 years old, and changes are needed.

He said fixing the problem would be a big project that would include draining the pond, digging it out, dredging it and installing a new clay liner before refilling.

"Along those lines, we want to talk to the public about what else would (they) be interested in as far as more amenities, more 'to-do's,' more activities during their stays," Kuntz said...

The low water level could be part of what caused the State Public Health Department to close the beach Wednesday afternoon.

Department spokeswoman Melanie Arnold said high bacteria levels prompted the closure. Health officials test the water at Middle Fork twice a month.

Arnold said several factors can cause bacteria levels to rise, including low water levels and rains that wash sediments into the lake...

Willow Pond is a stillwater with no pure aqua source, which makes maintaining its level a challenge.

More at the full article here. There was a formal meeting for public input the same day as the article. I imagine any minutes would be approved and any followup on that would be at the next Champaign County Forest Preserve Board of Commissioners meeting. That would be "on Thursday, September
 20, 2018 at the Golf Course Clubhouse, Lake of the Woods Forest Preserve, 405 N. Lake
of the Woods Road, Mahomet, Illinois, at 6:00 P.M."