Posted on April 29, 2019
Work may be done in connection with lake dredging
Repairs to the dam at Lakemont Park may need to be done in connection with the proposed dredging of the lake — the centerpiece project of the local agency responsible for compliance with new rules to prevent stormwater from washing sediment into area streams.
The need for such repairs came up at a recent meeting of the Intergovernmental Stormwater Committee, when member Tom Levine spoke of the ISC’s plans to pre-apply for a permit from the Department of Environmental Protection’s Bureau of Dam Safety, leading to a discussion with Blair County consulting engineer Brian Wiser of Keller Engineers.
It seems that more work on the dam itself will be needed than previously expected, Levine said.
Wiser, the DEP and the county are still working through details on the scope of possible dam work, Wiser said later.
Once those details are hashed out, he will present them to the county commissioners, Wiser said.
The dredging and the dam repairs could possibly be done separately, Wiser said.
The ISC’s Technical Committee hopes to have a pre-application meeting on the project before the end of May, Levine said.
The dredging of sediment from the lake bottom would enable the lake to again become a sediment trap.
The dredging would reduce sediment runoff in the area by an amount that would fulfill 38 percent of the 1.4 million pounds-per-year reduction required over the next five years by the ISC’s “permit.”
The dredging, which would be done in conjunction with upstream work to reduce silt inflow to Brush Run, would reduce sediment discharge downstream at a much cheaper cost per pound than any of the ISC’s other proposed projects.
The dredging is estimated to cost $1.7 million.
The ISC is looking for grants to help pay for it.
Workers have been testing the sediment at the lake bottom for pollutants in preparation for determining how best to dispose of the sludge when the dredging occurs.
Source: altoonamirror.com
