Sundown Lake
Artificial lake in Iowa, USA
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sundown Lake is a private, man-made lake in Appanoose County, Iowa, United States, 8 miles (13 km) east of the much larger Rathbun Lake, 2 miles (3.2 km) northwest of Unionville and 7 miles (11 km) southeast of Moravia, Iowa. It was created in 1976, by building a 51 foot tall, 1530 foot long embankment dam on the South Soap Creek, a tributary of the Soap Creek, which is itself a tributary of the Des Moines river.[1] As of 2012, approximately 70 homes had been built in the area surrounding the lake.[2]
| Sundown Lake | |
|---|---|
"The Point", a small peninsula jutting into Sundown Lake | |
  Sundown Lake  Sundown Lake | |
| Location | Appanoose County, Iowa |
| Coordinates | 40.833191°N 92.735164°W |
| Primary inflows | South Soap Creek |
| Primary outflows | South Soap Creek |
| Catchment area | 21.7 sq mi (56 km2)[1] |
| Built | 1976[1] |
| Surface area | 400 acres (160 ha)[1] |
| Surface elevation | 800 ft (240 m) |
| Website | https://www.sundownlake.com/history.html |
Development of the lake began in the 1960s. The lake originally covered about 470 acres, but silting has reduced its size. The cost of the dam and surrounding amenities was $4.5 million.[3]
Sundown Lake is contained within the Sundown Lake Rural Improvement Zone (RIZ), which allows property tax money to be used for maintenance activities (dredging etc.) for the lake.[4][5] The Appanoose County Board of Supervisors fought unsuccessfully to prevent the establishment of the RIZ, claiming that the diversion of tax revenues would adversely impact schools and local governments.[2][6] After losing a court battle,[7] the Board of Supervisors approved the creation of the RIZ on June 2, 2014.[8]
The lake is managed by The Coves of Sundown Lake Owners' Association.[9]