Posted on June 2, 2025
Cleveland Metroparks officials announced that the dredging of Hinckley Lake will take place this summer as part of the ongoing dam rehabilitation project.
Sean McDermott, chief planning and design officer for the Cleveland Metroparks, told those who attended a May 14 community meeting that the $12-million rehabilitation project is intended to increase the lake’s storage capacity.
Before the project, the lake was capable of storing enough water in the event a 100-year rainstorm struck the area; however, it was unable to contain enough water in the event of a “probable maximum flood,” McDermott said.
“What happens with this amount of rainfall is we get the remnants of a hurricane,” he explained. “We saw it happen in North Carolina where a hurricane comes up and parks on top of you. You can’t really plan for it, but it is a possibility.”
Since the Hinckley Lake project got underway in 2024, the lake’s embankment has been raised by approximately 4 feet on all sides. McDermott said that means the lake will now be capable of storing regular water levels, rain from a 100-year flood and the probable maximum flood.
Since the initial phase of construction was completed last summer, McDermott also noted it has been brought to the attention of the Cleveland Metroparks that residents living near the lake have been experiencing what he describes as a “rhythmic pulses” coming from the area.
McDermott said the phenomenon is called “Nappe oscillations,” which means that a sonic wave is being created when the water falls over the dam and spillway into the pool below. He said Metroparks officials are working with representatives of Utah State University and its water lab to address the issue. The plan, he said, is to test three potential solutions in the coming weeks to determine which solution works best to resolve the problem.
As far as lake dredging goes, Seth Keller, project manager for the Cleveland Metroparks, said the area of focus this summer will be the portion of the lake near the boathouse.
“We’ve had issues with boaters trying to get out and use our lake,” he said. “We’re trying to make it better recreationally and also better the health for our lake as well, because that’s where all the rivers flow in and drop all their sediment.”
Once the dredging is complete, the lake will have four bays within it, which are a little deeper than the surrounding area, Keller explained.
“We’re hoping all the material that’s flowing through the rivers every year and dropping into the lake is going to capture in those areas,” he said. “In the future, when we decide that we need to do some more dredging, we [will] have an isolated area where all that material is going to be dropped.”
Keller said a considerable amount of dirt had to be used to raise the earthen embankments by the spillway, so a large hole was excavated near the Buzzards Roost in the Hinckley Reservation. The hole created now will be filled with sediment from the lake.
Dredging will begin in July and is expected to be wrapped up by October, Keller said. While the work is underway, West Drive will be closed on weekdays from 6:30 a.m.-4 p.m., as large equipment will be in the area.
The rehabilitation project is expected to be finished by summer 2026, which is when the lake will be reopened to the public for swimming and other recreational activities.
For more information on the project, visit tinyurl.com/2xb3t4t4.
Photo Caption: Much of the lake dredging that takes place this summer will occur near the Hinckley Lake boathouse.
