More funding approved for rehab of Astin Park lake

BRYAN, Tex. (KBTX) – The Bryan City Council plans to spend more money to improve a lake that has suffered pollution problems.

It’s part of their plan at the new regional park at the old municipal golf course on Villa Maria Road.

At Thursday’s city council meeting, leaders approved a plan for an additional $49,000 in funding for their regional park.

“It allows us an opportunity to learn a little bit more about what we need to know, in the form of soil, working with environmentalists, working on permits,” said Bryan Deputy City Manager Hugh Walker.

Decades ago, big problems started at the lake. Elf Atochem, a fertilizer facility upstream, spilled arsenic that collected in the lake. Warning signs are long gone, but the lake bottom will have to be cleaned to fix the damage. Officials are looking at dredging the lake to expand it for the proposed park.

“We envision, at some point, we’ll have to dredge the lake and whether that’s something that we do early on or a little bit later, the dredging will have to occur,” said Walker. “At some point, we’d also like to expand the footprint of the lake,” he said.

Thursday morning, Kevin Brito and his little brother Joseph were taking advantage of the summer weather at Astin Park.

“Just here enjoying summer, fishing,” said Brito of Bryan.

He catches lots of fish, but he doesn’t keep them.

“No because, personally, I think the lake’s dirty so I really don’t want to eat it. I mean, if it would be clean then I’d personally take them home and eat them,” he said.

“The good news is the TCEQ has given us a clean bill of health for the lake, so the water is safe. You can fish in there,” said Mayor Andrew Nelson of Bryan. “The issues with the lake are down at the bottom with the silt,” he explained.

Brito hopes the cleanup will mean they can be out boating on the water in the future.

“I mean, a lot of families come out here. I see many families do barbecues over here and so that’d be a pretty good idea,” he said.

A timeline for the lake cleanup hasn’t been announced. Amenities are expected at the new regional park in the next two years.

The new interim services agreement for development of the regional park now totals more than $262,730. Work on the lake could cost more than $6 million.

_{Source: kbtx.com}