Dredging Begins at Lake Elkhorn

It may look like construction is going on near Lake Elkhorn in Owen Brown. But it's not. The heavy equipment is for the removal of layers of sediment from the bottom of Lake Elkhorn as part of Columbia’s dredging process.

The in-lake dredging at Lake Elkhorn began before the end of July, according to the Columbia Association. At the staging area just off Broken Land Parkway, motorists can see machines piling up sediment and large dump trucks hauling it away. Lake Elkhorn dredging is expected to continue until December, according to the association.

"The pathways at Lake Elkhorn will remain open throughout the dredging process, and people will be able to access the park around the lake," a CA spokesperson. "However, the parking lot off of Broken Land Parkway will be closed for the duration of the project." 

This year, dredging has occurred at all three of Columbia’s man-made lakes.

The dredging of Lake Kittamaqundi began in 2010 and finished in January, according to the association. Approximately 47,000 cubic yards of sediment were removed from Lake Kittamaqundi, according to the CA.

Wilde Lake’s dredging process, which removed approximately 15,000 cubic yards of sediment, finished on July 23, according to the CA.

Dredging is done to value of the lakes, according to Dennis Mattey, director of construction for the association.

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