Posted on January 26, 2026
Kewanee park officials hope a long-overdue dredging of the Windmont Park lagoon can be finished in time for the annual kids’ fishing rodeo.
The fishing event, sponsored by the Oldeen family, is held in late spring.
At Thursday’s Kewanee Park Board meeting, Parks Director Andrew Dwyer said the planning work for the dredging has been done.
Dwyer said Ratliff Brothers will do the work for $75,000. The park district will pay that amount, and the city of Kewanee will share in the cost by providing free water for the new splash pad in Liberty Park for the next three years.
The lagoon is fed by water from three storm sewers that drain into it. Silt from those sewers accumulates at the bottom of the lagoon.
The excessive silt leads to algae blooming and fish dying off, Dwyer said.
Dwyer said the Illinois Department of Natural Resources has mapped the lake’s depth with sonar. And Ratliff Brothers staff had checked the status of the lagoon.
Ratliff’s has worked on the lagoon in the past, and their people know as much about the lagoon as anyone, Dwyer told the park board.
He said it had been as long as 15 years since the lagoon was last dredged.
Dwyer suggested that park officials look into installing silt baffles at the outlets from the sanitary sewers to help control the problem.
Also Thursday, the park board looked over the final plans for the expansion of the clubhouse at Baker Park.
The board had approved those plans at its December meeting.
The project will include upgrades to the existing clubhouse and building a new dining room next to it.
