“Meandered sovereign lakes” means those lakes which, at the time of the original federal government surveys, were surveyed as navigable and important water bodies and were transferred to the states upon their admission to the union to be transferred or retained by the public in accordance with the laws of the respective states. The State of Iowa holds sovereign title in trust for the benefit of the public to the beds of these lakes
Ordinary High Water Line (OHWL) – “is the limit where high water occupies the land so long and continuously as to wrest terrestrial vegetation from the soil or saturate the root zone and destroy its value for agricultural purposes.“ IAC Ch 13, p1 571
OHWL elevation determinations on Iowa lakes provide a boundary between riparian property and public land/water.
Any construction including excavation, addition of fill, shoreline stabilization, rock armoring, or other activities below the OHWL will likely require state and federal permits. There is no charge for a permit. A joint
application to obtain a permit for these activities can be found at https://programs.iowadnr.gov/permt
Construction or alterations extending beyond or below the OHWL must meet the criteria found in IAC 571 Ch 13.
It should be noted that the OHWL is not the record high water level. Water levels can and do bounce above the OHWL. This should be taken into consideration when planning construction to avoid property damage from high water.
