Posted on August 14, 2018
A committee plans to present a $19 million proposal to clean up Lake Mitchell, which has had water quality issues for decades.
The Lake Mitchell Advisory Committee will present the plan to the Mitchell City Council on Monday, The Daily Republic reported . The committee evaluated consultant Fyra Engineering’s recommendations to get the lake’s phosphorus levels back to a healthy state.
The committee agreed that two steps must be implemented in order to maintain healthy levels. The lake will need to be dredged up to remove the current sediment. The second phase involves building engineering structures in and near the lake to keep the phosphorus at healthy levels.
Both actions are necessary in order to have lasting effects, said Committee President Joe Kippes.
“Even if we did dredge the lake and kept the numbers down, what’s coming into the lake would carry enough phosphorus that (would) still give us the problem we have,” Kippes said. “That’s why, I guess, we felt that if we’re going to do it, we probably have to pursue both of those.”
The next step will be to determine how to pay for the cleanup project, he said.
The first step of dredging is estimated to cost about $11 million, Fyra representatives told committee members. The second step of engineering structures is projected at about $4.8 million. The committee also budgeted for costs of implementing regulatory measures and a 10 percent engineering fee.
Fyra officials said the city wouldn’t have to pay for the entire cleanup, which could be supported through grants.
Source: myPlainview
