Most of Silver Lake Was Only Inches Deep. This Winter Is When That Changes.

"Most of that was to the point where it was only about six to eight inches deep," Rochester Deputy Public Works Director Aaron Luckstein said in a KTTC story published October 28, talking about the lake many Rochester residents walk around without a second look.

That number explains the view from the Silver Lake loop right now. Since October the lake has been drained down to the Zumbro River's flow. What used to look like open water is now mudflats with a channel running through. The empty bed is the start of a nearly $19 million project to make Silver Lake an actual lake again. Spots that held six to eight inches of water should end up about four or five feet deep, and up to nine feet in the deepest places.

For anyone who uses the park, the winter is when the lake gets rebuilt, and the walk past it changes in specific ways.

What the drained bed shows

The City started the drawdown at midnight on Monday, October 19. It expected to reach construction level by that Friday morning, about five to six feet lower in the deeper channels, according to the City's construction updates. The Post Bulletin gives the same October 19 start date in its photo report from that week.

Five or six feet is the depth of the deep channels only. Away from them, much of the old lake was a thin layer of water over built-up sediment. The crews plan to remove a little over 200,000 cubic yards of it, reaching upstream as far as Third Avenue by the Government Center, Luckstein told KTTC. The sediment will be dried, hauled to the west side of town, and reused for future construction when possible.

Regular walkers noticed the difference right away. "I've walked around this lake for several years now and it's definitely different," Trish Hanson told KTTC. Sherry Halleland told the station she was "actually really surprised by how clean it technically looks."

Why the work happens in winter

Taking the lake apart in the coldest months is deliberate. The City says winter brings lower river flows, so the below-water work can be done efficiently with less disruption. It also says the lake only needs to stay low long enough for that work to happen.

The steps also had to go in order. The City lowered the lake gradually so the sediment would stay on the lakebed, where crews can dredge it, rather than wash downstream. KIMT reported that the City was lowering the lake slowly to allow fish to migrate. After the water dropped, the City planned about two weeks for the exposed lakebed to dry. That step is called dewatering, and it makes the sediment easier to remove.

Here is the order of the winter work, based on the City's October 12 release and KTTC's reporting:

1. Bring in equipment and set up safety and access measures around the site.
2. Lower the lake to the low channel flow and let the bed dry.
3. Cut temporary channels through the lakebed so crews can reach the dam area and the sediment.
4. Dredge and truck out the sediment.
5. Replace the old low-head dam with rock arch rapids and wave pools.
6. Build the pier for a future pedestrian bridge while the water is down.

The City is also using the low water to replace an aging, undersized sanitary sewer line. That job affects walkers more directly than anything else on this list, and it gets its own section below.

Who was living on the lakebed

The exposed mud made one part of the work visible. Several native freshwater mussel species live in this stretch of the river, and the City says some are listed by the state as threatened or of special concern. Before construction, workers walked the new mudflats collecting mussels and moved them to a protected bed downstream behind a silt curtain. That's according to the City's October 22 field update.

The new rapids are tied to the mussels' future too. The rock arch replacing the dam works as a fish passage, and many mussels depend on fish to carry their larvae upstream. Once fish can get past where the dam stood, the City expects mussels to reach habitat they couldn't reach before. The same update carries a photo of two ducks walking the shore of the lowered lake, which is about how the waterfowl scene looks at the moment.

How your loop changes this winter

All of this explains why your usual walk will feel different. Moving 200,000 cubic yards of mud means a lot of trucks, and the City has named their routes. Expect more truck traffic on:

• 7th Street NE
• 13th and 14th Streets NW
• West Silver Lake Drive

KTTC reported that the trucks will haul rock in as well as sediment out. Sidewalks and trails along those haul routes will close, and the City says the closures will be signed and to use caution nearby. The City has not posted a list of which specific segments are closed. Its project page is where it says closures and traffic impacts will be announced.

The biggest change is at the pedestrian bridge near 7th Street NE. In October the City said the bridge and the trail under it would close once the sanitary sewer work begins "later this fall." It gave no exact date. If that crossing is part of your usual loop, check for a posted closure before you go.

The last rule is the simplest to follow. The City asks everyone to stay off the exposed lakebed and out of active construction zones. Its October 19 update warns that the sediment can be soft and unsafe even when it looks dry.

The rest of the park is in the middle of a rebuild too

The dam and dredging project is separate from the park upgrades already underway around the shore, though both are reshaping Silver Lake on overlapping timelines. The City's first phase of upgrades from its 2023 Silver Lake Master Plan is budgeted at about $10.5 million. It includes the aquatics area, a new playground, an Indigenous gathering area with natural stone seating and native plantings, a skate park expansion, a basketball court and shelter renovations, according to the City's park improvements page.

Some of that work is finished. The new west playground equipment and sidewalks went in by October 2025. The rebuilt Silver Lake Pool and new splash pad opened in June 2026. The pool's 2026 season ran June 9 through August 16, so it is closed for the season now. The skate park expansion began construction in September 2026. The same City page expects completion by mid-summer 2027 in its updates section, while its timeline still lists a fall 2026 grand opening, so the later date is the safer one to plan around.

What comes back, and when

The empty lake is temporary, and the City has a schedule for refilling it.

The north-shore trail matters most for daily walks. The City says it will connect the existing trails to the west and east, with an option to pass below the Broadway Bridge. In the same October 28 story, Luckstein told KTTC the project was on schedule. He said a deeper lake should improve recreation and cut down on algae blooms. When the water comes back next spring, the same view from the loop will have about four or five feet of lake under it instead of six inches.

Long-term thinking is how we approach every Rochester conversation at SAVIA Group Real Estate, including projects like Silver Lake that will change how a part of the city works for years. If you'd like to talk through how the park's 2027 finish line fits into your own plans for the next few years, schedule a consultation with Julissa and the team.