A lake inside a Minnesota state park has vanished, after a mechanical issue with the valve that control’s the lake’s water level.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources said Monday that Lake Alice at William O’Brien State Park, north of Stillwater, “has experienced a near total drawdown of its water level,” leaving only a stream running across the lake bed.

That caused a fish kill in the 26-acre lake, located a stone’s throw from the St. Croix River. It’s normally up to 9 feet deep.

The DNR said that water levels at the lake had been steadily increasing due to heavy rain over the past month.

“When water levels became high enough that water was flowing over the dike between the lake and the St. Croix River, DNR staff opened the water control structure’s valve to release excess wa

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