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Sunday, April 17, 2011

The Dredge Report #2



Patiently Waiting


The city’s environmental project (restoring the stream bank and dredging the lake) is careening along at the Speed Of Government: county-state-federal-city.

What does this mean?

Dekalb County released a check to Pine Lake last week to cover half of the GEFA/ARRA (see next paragraph) funds. Next, the city will send the county funds received to the Feds. The city next sends the Feds the county funding. The wheels will turn and the city will receive the $1.4 million for our stream bank restoration and dredging project. When the funds are received, the second “plug” will be pulled and the lake will drain to its full extent. As the lake drains, we’ll start fish relocation. When the silt and mud at the eastern end has dried thoroughly enough, we can expect to see equipment and the start of the project.

A summary:
Pine Lake has been approved for a streambank restoration grant as part of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act in partnership with the Georgia Environmental Finance Authority. This project is specifically focused on reconfiguring the bank between the lake and the creek, with a subset of the work including dredging the eastern area of the lake where nearly all of the silt depositing occurs. A third element in this environmental effort is the construction of a bioretention feature to the west of the Gazebo (where there is currently a drainage ditch.) The last piece of the project is the lowering of the road between the lake and the Western wetlands to create a spillway in the event of a major flood (expect the road to be closed at this phase).

The end result will be a greatly improved overall hydrology infrastructure: a kinder, gentler stream with ripples and stilling ponds that help enhance habitat, a cleaner lake, and a significant drop in flood risk.

Please sign up to receive these emails (TheDredgeReport@gmail.com) and to send in questions, or if you want to volunteer for the community committee working on the aquaponics (www.aquaplanetonline.com) site. You can also contact Phil Howland at City Hall.

Saturday, April 2, 2011

The Dredge Report #1




As everyone in the city has noticed, Pine Lake is slowly turning into Pine Puddle in preparation for a two-part project that will result in a healthy water ecosystem for decades to come.

The bottom of the lake has been tested via several core samples and there is no evidence of pollutants that could stall progress. Success on the fecal front!

Once the lake has emptied and dried out to the specs of the dredging engineers (Georgia Development Partners and GeoRay), they will begin redistributing the silt and removing what cannot be recycled. There is also usable fill dirt beneath the silt that will be utilized in the other part of the project: stream bank restoration. The "impoundment" (the dam at the back of the lake) is in need of attention to mitigate flooding, shore up its stability, and enhance habitat for our various PL critters. For more information on natural restoration practices, check out:

www.wildlandhydrology.com

This is the first of many Dredge Reports that we'll be sending out for the duration of the project, which could last up to 150 days. Please sign up to receive these emails and to send in questions, or if you want to volunteer for the community committee working on the aquaponics site. You can also contact Phil Howland at City Hall.

TheDredgeReport@gmail.com