The Cedar Lake Improvement District (CLID) was established in 1981 by the Scott County Board of Commissioners at the urging of residents within the Cedar Lake area. The CLID consists of 7 volunteer board directors and includes properties in both Cedar Lake and Helena Townships. The mission and focus of the CLID is to undertake and manage activities to improve the water quality in Cedar Lake.

Over the years, the CLID has successfully initiated several projects, including the Cedar Lake Area Sanitary Sewer Project and improvement to the major water inlet located at the south end of the lake. Since 2012, the CLID board has been actively engaged with the Scott County Watershed Management Organization (SCWMO) and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to implement a multi-year effort to reduce Curly Leaf Pondweed (CLP), a non-native aquatic invasive species, in order to restore native plants that were greatly impacted by the overwhelming dominance of the CLP for many years. Additionally, many efforts have been made to reduce the population of common carp, also a non-native aquatic invasive species, since they severely impact the water quality in shallower lakes. Due to their bottom feeding habits, carp dig up shallow rooted plants, muddy the waters which then release phosphorous into the lake and thus increase algae.

At the CLID's 2012 annual meeting, the board presented a lake treatment plan to reduce and control the CLP and to remove carp from Cedar. The large number of residents attending the meeting overwhelming voted in support of the plan (83% in favor) by approving a 10-year tax levy to fund the program along with matching funds from SCWMO and possible grants from the DNR. Great strides have been made in reducing the CLP with many native plants returning. The plan runs through 2021 when it will be time to analyze the overall results and determine possible future efforts.

Creation of Cedar Lake Improvement District