Silver Lake Talks Sediment Removal
SILVER LAKE — The meeting room at Silver Lake’s town hall was filled as local residents gathered to learn more about a sediment removal plan.
The town is working on applying for an 80-20 grant that will help fund the project. However, there are a number of steps that must be completed before the application can be submitted.
Jim Donahoe of Sediment Removal Solutions was on hand to take questions and answer concerns to help pinpoint what will need to be done. Maps were available to those in attendance outlining four sites around the lake where sediment removal could take place. However, Donahoe added, the map is just a starting point and is up for revision.
Once the areas have been determined, the next step will be to measure the areas to be dredged. This will involve marking off the area with white PVC pipe and electric tape to find out how deep the water is above the sediment and how much sediment lies at each spot. Studies will also determine the types of materials to be cleared away.
Where to take the sediment is another issue. Muck, Donahoe said, is basically rotting organic matter and shrinks as it dries. Sand, however, does not shrink, so finding a place to put it will be trickier.
As far as timelines, Donahoe said workers will most likely begin probing in two to three weeks. By November or early December, the town of Silver Lake hopes to have a plan written up, including method of removal. Some options Donahoe outlined are mechanically with a backhoe on a barge or hydraulically with what looks like a pontoon with a roto-tiller.
The plan is to have the information written up and the grant application submitted by January. The town should know by next April whether it will receive the funding it needs. If the grant is approved, work will not begin until July, 2016, as required by the state to avoid the spawning season of certain species of fish and turtles that live in the lake.
Several residents asked if the sediment removal sites can be extended to their own properties, to which Donahoe responded that yes, they can privately pay to have their lakefront areas dredged. However, he added, that would be at the discretion of whichever excavating company was brought in, as the project has not yet gone to bid.
The project is estimated at $100,000. With the 80-20 grant, 80 percent will be paid through grant funding and the town is responsible for the other 20 percent. If needed, the project can be stretched into a three-year plan.
“It’s going to be a slow process,” Donahoe said.
Clerk-treasurer Tonya Conley added that there is economic development money saved up that is separate from taxpayer dollars and can be used to help with the town’s 20 percent.
Donahoe noted that there will be another meeting to discuss the topic, probably in December or January.
The next regular meeting of the Silver Lake Town Council is set for 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 9, at the Silver Lake Town Hall.