Posted on May 28, 2025
UPDATE (7:39 p.m.): Dredging is set to begin in July after getting a final stamp of approval from state officials.
“Finally! We are getting to the finish line to be able to dredge the lake,” Mobile District 7 Councilwoman Gina Gregory said.
For the most part, Langan Lake sits at about six inches deep, full of sediment and dirt from years of storm runoff.
“That’s why you see so much of the growth of submerged aquatic vegetation in there, because it gets hot, and it provides a place for that to grow,” City of Mobile Director of Programs and Project Management Jennifer Greene said.
The city plans to remove 237,000 cubic yards of that sediment, which is about 11,000 dump truck loads of muck.
The lake will range from about 3 to 5 feet deep, allowing for non-motorized boats to float back in the water.
“Once the dredging is complete, then we will be able to finish up a lot of the improvements that are planned for the lake,” Gregory said.
That includes boat houses and pavilions that will be funded through the District 7 capital improvement fund.
But in order to keep all that muck out in the future, the plan also includes other stormwater improvements.
“We’re reusing some of the dredge spoils and creating a feature and restoring a natural stream to the northeast part of the lake that’s now just a concrete ditch that we have. So it will be prettier, safer and really function to help control sediment coming off Zeigler Blvd.” Greene said.
Dredging should take about 18 months to complete.
PREVIOUS REPORTING
MOBILE, Ala. — The Mobile City Council has approved a $15 million contract to dredge the lake at Langan Municipal Park.
The council authorized a contract with Hughes Companies, Inc. for the dredging and stormwater improvements, News 5 has learned.
The company will dredge 350,000 cubic yards worth of sediment from Langan Lake; that’s reportedly equal to more than 100 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
Crews will also repair the drainage in the lake to prevent sediment from piling up.
“We’re going to be rejuvenating a drainage feature that goes from Zeigler down to the lake,” Jennifer Greene, director of Programs and Project Management with the City of Mobile, said. “The goal is collecting sediment that’s coming off of Zeigler, so we don’t put more sediment back into the lake.”
Additionally, plans are in place to construct a boathouse for non-motorized boats.
“One of the things that Councilwoman [Gina] Gregory has planned is a boathouse, and I know that that’s in design this year,” Greene said. “And so that will allow non-motorized boats to go back into the lake because we’ll have more water for them to go in.”
Dredging is set to start in July.
The work is all part of the Three Mile Creek Watershed Restoration Project.
In 2018, the Alabama Gulf Coast Recovery Council approved more than $11 million for the city to use in removing sediment from local waterways.
That includes improvements to Langan Lake to alleviate flooding and removing sediment in Twelve Mile and Three Mile Creeks.
