After a few weeks of worrying for residents along Ramsey Mill Pond, an issue that caused lower water levels upstream on the Cedar River should soon be fixed.

Old Mill Restaurant owner Dave Forland said he just received permission from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to fix part of the mill, which broke and caused water to flow through the raceway below the mill and caused abnormally low water levels north of the dam.

The problem started after heavy rains in June caused high water. By July, residents along Ramsey Mill Pond noticed water levels falling far below normal — low enough that water wasn’t running over the dam. The DNR and engineers for Hormel Foods Corp., which owns Ramsey Dam, looked into the issue and realized it stemmed from the mill structure, which is owned by Forland.

When Forland bought the Old Mill about 20 years ago, he blocked off the old gates that allowed water to run through the mill. But after the flooding, Forland’s fix to dam off the water gave way, allowing water to run through.

For now, Forland may sandbag until he can do a more permanent fix on the mill’s gates.

Cedar River Watershed District resource specialist Justin Hanson said it’s good news that there’s nothing structurally wrong with dam.

“That’s significantly different than if it’s just running around,” Hanson said.

As far as he knows, Hanson said the dam is structurally sound and is inspected periodically.

Forland and Hanson have heard from several concerned residents.

“That is good that we can kind of address some of those concerns,” Hanson said.

The news is also a positive to residents living along Ramsey Mill Pond.

“It’s awesome it’s getting fixed,” said Matt Lenz, who lives along the pond and owns a pontoon.

Several pontoons were beached and Lenz estimated the water levels dropped by at least a few feet, which he said affected about a dozen property owners.

Lenz said it was a blessing in disguise in a way, as people were able to repair their docks and do some cleanup that wouldn’t have been possible otherwise.

However, Lenz and other residents have voiced concerns about fish in low waters, which Hanson said shouldn’t be a major issue.

A glimpse into the future?

The low water levels may have unintentionally provided a glimpse into the future of Ramsey Mill Pond. Typically, the flow of the river pushes sediment downstream, but Hanson said the pond is wider than a traditional river, which causes the flow to slow and sediment to settle in the middle of the pond.

“It’s what it will look like in the future,” Hanson said.

Without drastic changes, sediment from runoff will continue to settle, eventually turning the pond more into a marsh or wetland in as soon as 50 to 100 years.