Posted on March 18, 2020
Draining of the four lakes that form part of the ecosystem at West Lake Park in north Davenport is complete. The lakes will be closed for the 2020 season and reopen in 2021. The entire lake restoration project will run about $5 million by the time it is finished according to Executive Director for Scott County’s Conservation Board Roger A. Kean. [Kevin E. Schmidt/Quad City Times] – Kevin E. Schmidt
DAVENPORT — The four lakes at the West Lake complex in Davenport will be off limits to the public this year.
If weather cooperates, the Scott County-owned lakes will reopen for fishing and swimming next year. For now, they remain drained or poised to be re-drained when weather permits heavy equipment to be used on the now-wet lake beds and shorelines.
A major restoration project is underway at the 620-acre property west of Interstate 280. Scott County Conservation and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources are upgrading the park that was constructed in the 1960s. The lakes are getting particular attention, including dredging, shoreline stabilization and improved fish habitats.
“We’re looking at nine sediment ponds,” said Roger Kean, executive director of the county conservation office. “The whole purpose is to keep the sediment from coming in, so we don’t have to do this again.
“When the park was built in the ’60s, there was insufficient sediment control.”
The best example of the park’s problems is at Blue Grass Lake, which is the western-most lake in the park. It is so full of sediment that the whole thing will have to be dredged.
A 20-acre spoil site has been cleared near Blue Grass Lake, Kean said, which is where dredging material will be dumped. Ultimately, the dirt will be fashioned into a large hill, he said.
But dredging cannot get underway until the shorelines and lake beds can accommodate heavy equipment. The sediment is soggy and very old, so it will take some time to sufficiently dry.
“An engineer determined a total of 150,000 cubic yards of sediment will be removed, mostly from Blue Grass and Railroad lakes,” Kean said. “At Blue Grass Lake, the entire thing will be dredged out and made deeper.”
Lake of the Hills is the biggest lake and the one that contains the beach area. It also will get attention along its shorelines, which will be rip-rapped and reshaped to help prevent erosion. Deeper holes will be dug for better fishing, and new fish habitats will be added.
The old tires that were placed in the lakes years ago no longer are desirable habitats. Since any potential contaminant damage likely already has been done, the tires will be left where they lie or are stuck in the mud. More modern methods will be used to create habitats.
Also, since the county must remove several hundred ash trees from the park that have been affected by emerald ash borer insects, some of those trees will be used to create underwater habitats.
Two local companies have contracts for the park improvements, which are to be completed by March 2021.
But first, dry weather is needed to give the workers access to the in-lake work.
Last year, all the lakes were drained — either by opening valves or by pumping water out. An archaeological study was conducted, and the bidding contractors were able to see the lake bottoms, so they could accurately price the work, Kean said.
In addition to drying time, some more pumping will have to be done, especially at Blue Grass Lake, before dredging will commence.
When the work is finished, the lakes will refill naturally from the watershed, including rain and runoff.
“It’s totally weather-dependent on how long it’ll take to fill it back up,” Kean said.
When the lakes are once again filled with water, they will be restocked with fish — bass, crappie, bluegill and catfish. A $100,000 fish-habitat grant from the DNR will supply the necessary funding, and volunteers will help create hundreds of fish beds.
Source: ncnewspress
