IA DNR: Clear Lake Dredge Project May Begin Early

CLEAR LAKE - A lake enhancement dredge project that was scheduled to begin on Clear Lake sometime in July has been moved ahead. According to DNR Fisheries Biologist, Scott Grummer the dredge barge should be “assembled and pumping” by early June.

“At this point, the barge company is running ahead of schedule and wants to begin work as soon as possible,” said Grummer. “Once the pumping begins, the barge will run 24 hours a day, seven days a week until the lake freezes this fall. If the work begins a month early, it will be very positive for the project.”

“Right now, we’re informing the public of some minor recreational changes that will accompany the dredge project,” said Grummer. “Most noteworthy is that, beginning Monday [May 5], the Lynn Lorenzen Park and Boat Access [located at Ventura] will be closed. That location is where the dredge will be assembled and launched into Clear Lake. The McIntosh Woods State Park and its boat accesses will remain open to the public all summer.”

Grummer also noted that a boating speed limit of 10 mph will be in force this summer on all areas west of the McIntosh Woods State Park sandbar [known locally as the Little Lake]. All areas of the Little Lake will remain open to fishing, swimming, and other recreational uses.

The Clear Lake dredge project is expected to remove 2.3 million cubic yards of sediment from the Little Lake and will increase water depth from its current 51/2 to 6 feet to 24 feet. The sediment will be pumped to a completed containment site located two miles south of the Ventura Marsh. The project is scheduled to be completed by the fall of 2009.

Written by Lowell Washburn