PAGE 48 | IMPACT | FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2019
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The restoration of Fountain Lake is a community project Although the dredge excavating the sediments from Edgewater Bay is on its second season of dredging, the massive vessel still fills residents with awe. Depending on its location, people can be seen pointing and taking pictures of the dredge, and rightly so. “The Fountain Lake Restoration is a community project — a project that many people have waited a long time for,” explains Shell Rock River Watershed District Administrator Andy Henschel. Since 2003, the Shell Rock River Watershed District and its partners have been proactive in their efforts to improve water quality in Fountain Lake by implementing upstream projects including managing rough fish populations, installing fish barriers, lake reclamations, streambank restorations and agricultural best management practices. While these measures have helped, excessive internal phosphorus loading, overabundant algae and low water clarity still remained. To combat these water quality issues, the district has found success with hydraulic dredging. Similar to a giant vacuum cleaner, the 12-inch swinging ladder cutterhead dredge stirs up sediment and sucks it into a pipe via pumps, thus removing the active layer of concentrated phosphorus and exposing sediment with a lower potential for internal loading. The dredged material from Edgewater Bay is then pumped through a 14-inch pipe over four miles to a confined disposal facility, a dewatering site. The Fountain Lake restoration is a multi-phased project. The first phase, removing over 617,000 cubic yards of material from Edgewater Bay, will be complete in just a few weeks. The district has been preparing for the second phase for many months. In January, the Shell Rock River Watershed
Guest Column By Leah Stadheim
District Board of Managers approved another contract with J.F. Brennan Co. Inc., the dredging and marine construction company responsible for the first phase of dredging. The phase two contract includes dredging approximately 604,000 cubic yards of material with the potential for an increase to 704,000 cubic yards from the Main Bay and Dane’s Bay. This phase will take two dredging seasons as well, or until 2021. Similarly, the dredged material will be pumped via a pipeline to CDF cells two and three, currently under construction and located adjacent to the existing CDF site. Additional dredging, including Bancroft Bay and Albert Lea Lake, rely on the success of the Fountain Lake restoration project, but the district remains proactive. Staff continues to strategize for future funding and permitting. Once dredging is complete, the district will focus on habitat features and maintaining catchments from tributaries entering into Fountain Lake including Wedge Creek, Dane’s Bay and Shoff Creek. The Fountain Lake restoration project will not only improve water quality and clarity, enhance fish habitat and protect waterfowl, but it will leave an outdoor legacy for future generations. Leah Stadheim is the education/ outreach coordinator and administrative assistant for the Shell Rock River Watershed District.
The dredge sits on part of Edgewater Bay during the dredging process. COLLEEN HARRISON/ALBERT LEA TRIBUNE