Watertown’s Lake Kampeska Indoor Fish Cleaning Station Needs $25,000 to Break Ground
Northeast Radio SD News – Watertown, SD - A long-awaited indoor fish-cleaning station and boat-rinse facility at Lake Kampeska is within $25,000 of breaking ground before winter freezes the ground, according to South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks (GFP) officials.
Rhet Russell, a habitat and access biologist with GFP, and Tim Sheehan of the Watertown Area Chamber of Commerce joined Northeast Radio SD in the studio on Monday, Oct. 26, to detail the proposed Watertown Indoor Fish Cleaning Station and outline how local businesses, sportsmen's groups, and residents can help push the project across the finish line.
Project Location and Funding Status
The year-round facility is slated for the Sailboat Landing access area on Lake Kampeska. Russell noted the site is the lake's most popular landing and sits directly along the highway corridor, drawing both local anglers and visiting boats traveling through Watertown toward lakes in the Webster area and across the northeast region.
"To be honest with you, I'm within about 25 grand of saying, 'Let's turn some dirt, let's get some mud on the ground before it freezes to the point where we can't do that,'" Russell said. "The goal would be to drum up another 25 grand here in the next couple weeks... get the cement and the mud work done, and then they could work on the rest of the building through the winter and get this thing accomplished."
When initial construction bids came in higher than anticipated earlier this spring, Russell paused the project to conduct value engineering with a contractor, cutting roughly $200,000 from the original bid to bring the total estimated project cost into the $250,000 to $260,000 range.
The Lake Kampeska Water Project District pledged a $100,000 matching grant toward the facility, bringing total grant and matching commitments to approximately $150,000. In addition, GFP has already purchased and taken delivery of the commercial stainless-steel table and Barracuda grinder—valued at $70,000 to $75,000—which is currently stored at the local GFP shop awaiting installation.
Facility Features and Aquatic Invasive Species Prevention
Modeled closely after a similar indoor cleaning station in Webster, the Watertown facility will be free for public use and maintained by GFP on state-managed access land, placing no maintenance burden on the City of Watertown.
Planned features of the ADA-compliant, waterproof facility include:
· Year-Round Climate Control: Air conditioning and insect control in the summer, paired with a heated floor and indoor heating kept around 50 to 55 degrees for ice anglers during the winter.
· Commercial Grinder and Sanitary Sewer Connection: Equipped with a quiet commercial Barracuda fish grinder, rinse sink, and direct connection to the sanitary sewer district to eliminate odors and waste buildup.
· Indoor Restroom and Forsberg Park Upgrade: The new building will include an indoor flush restroom. The city of Watertown has donated the existing vault toilet at Sailboat Landing, and it will be relocated across the road to Forsberg City Park to serve anglers using the park's fishing pier.
· Exterior Boat Rinse Pad: Funded in partnership with the Lake Kampeska Water Project District, an exterior concrete pad with pressurized water will allow boaters to spray aquatic vegetation off their boats and trailers before leaving the landing, helping curb the spread of aquatic invasive species (AIS) between area lakes.
· 24-Hour Security and Flood Mitigation: Interior and exterior security features, along with a gradually elevated pad and parking area designed to protect the structure during high-water events on Lake Kampeska.
Russell noted that Watertown currently lacks a public fish cleaning station, leaving local residents to clean fish in unheated garages or dispose of fish waste in residential trash cans, while visiting anglers staying at local hotels have nowhere to process their catch.
Three Decades of Northeast South Dakota Access Projects
Monday's update also highlighted Russell's recent 30-year service milestone with South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks. After graduating from South Dakota State University and serving at West Whitlock and Lake Herman in Madison, Russell transferred to Watertown in 2000.
During his time with the Parks Division in the early 2000s, Russell managed the major campground expansion at Pelican Lake State Recreation Area—growing the site from 12 local campsites to include water, electrical hookups, horse camps, and buildings—alongside improvements at Hartford Beach State Park and Lake Cochrane. Since moving to the Wildlife Division in 2013 to oversee habitat and water access across the 13-county northeast region, he has led numerous local and regional projects, including community fishing piers, the Watertown gun range, local kayak launches, and new boat ramps at Bitter Lake, North Rush Lake, Lake Alice, and Richmond Lake.
"I'm really invested in the community," Russell said. "I think this is a great project for this community. I know Webster has really fallen in love with theirs. It's been a great asset up there. It could be a great asset here as well. I'm just looking for a little support and help to get me there."
How to Donate or Provide In-Kind Support
The project accepts both monetary donations and in-kind contractor contributions—such as concrete, sheet metal, plumbing, heating, or electrical work coordinated with the prime contractor. Donations to date have ranged from $300 to the $100,000 district match, and contributors can remain anonymous or have their business or organization recognized on an entryway sponsorship board and interior display screens.
Sheehan encouraged local businesses, individuals, and area conservation chapters—including Pheasants Forever, Pro Pheasants, Ducks Unlimited, and Dakota Sportsmen—to partner on the remaining $25,000 needed to start site work this fall.
Anyone interested in viewing the engineered plans, discussing in-kind construction partnerships, or contributing to the Watertown Indoor Fish Cleaning Station can contact Rhett Russell directly by calling or texting (605) 520-3160, calling the Watertown GFP regional office at (605) 882-5200, or contacting Tim Sheehan at the Watertown Area Chamber of Commerce.
