This past Saturday, July 23rd, twenty-five or so neighbors took a fish-eye tour of the lake project and its many components. Below is a link to a clip detailing just one element:
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Friday, July 22, 2011
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Under Construction
(photo by Greg Zarus)
At this point in the project it's hard to tell what is being restored, constructed, and removed.
The impoundment has a completely different profile. What was once a mostly vertical face now has two sections--a slope (red arrow) and a bench (white arrow). The slopes are stabilized with jute matting and will be seeded with various plantings to help increase erosion and sediment control.
The June 28th DR included a diagram of the stream showing "rock cross vanes" inserted into the banks and across the bed. All but two of these have been installed and are already creating pools and riffles in the downstream flow.
Within the next week to ten days we'll begin to see more results: the completion of the cross vanes, the removal of existing spoils from the lake bed, and the construction of fish habitat shelves along our berm.
Phil will be taking the PL kids on a tour of the "bottom" of the lake this Saturday, July 23rd at 10 a.m. and describing the lake project from a fish-eye view. This tour is open to children of all ages--feel free to attend (and wear shoes that can take some mud!).
For more photos and information check out:
Sunday, July 10, 2011
The Dirt on The Dirt
In the week-plus since the last DR many changes have happened, as evidenced by the machinery in the lake bed, the mounds of earth, the trees that have been cut and stacked, and the lightning strike that delayed this report and rendered it photo-less.
There have been several inquiries about the dirt that's piling up next to the changing stream bank: when and how it can be collected for use in yards and gardens; how it's being managed to protect the stream from sediment as construction continues.
As of this date Phil and Josh Maner (the on-site project manager) are considering trucking the silt removed from the lake bed to the PW building where it can dry and be made available to residents.
As for the erosion and sediment controls along the stream bank construction, there is nothing at this time to prevent some dirt from washing into the stream should there be a rain event.However,in the State of
The basics are not being ignored. On a daily basis the contractor provides such erosion control as is necessary and reasonable and in keeping with the State issued permit. For example, jute matting is being placed on the slopes as the work progresses and PAM mulch will be applied to this and to the bench at the waterside. In addition, the top of the new berm is currently sloped such that rain that falls on the top of the berm will flow into the lake, not the stream, capturing all silt in the now dry lake bed (which, during the course of the work, cannot flow into the stream and will ultimately be removed as work progresses there). Erosion controls are adjusted at the end of each work day to meet the intent and letter of the permit.
A significant amount of silt was already washing into the stream during every rain event- note the raw banks with no vegetation along the northside of the stream. This project will alleviate that problem.
The city and the State regulators understand that a project of this type will necessarily create some concerns and even problems during the course of the work but that the end result will be to create a habitat and bank structure that will keep future erosion to a minimum.
Friday, July 8, 2011
The Dredge Reporters: Yuri and Charleston
The lake project has elicited many responses and questions. Yuri and Charleston talk dirt. Click here:
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
It's Nearly JULY.
WHY IS IT TAKING SO LONG???
As described, the largest part of this project is the streambank restoration--which is exactly what it sounds like. Here is the engineering diagram that indicates the steps that we’ll be watching in the next several weeks (sorry it's small---working on posting a larger copy):
Yes: it is taking longer than originally expected, and possibly longer still depending on the weather. As you’ve read in previous DRs, this is a multi-agency, multi-governmental, and multi-step process with the heavy equipment and earth moving steps greatly affected by rain. It’s a stop/start pain-in-the-neck enterprise and the result will be an improved and stabilized stream and lake ecosystem. That said, we expect to see many trees cut within the next week.
Meanwhile, there have been recent repeat questions about the funding of this project. Here’s an excerpt from the April 17th DR:
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).
As of June 27th the road is now closed. Spectators and pedestrians---please stay out of this area which is now an active work site.
For more information about streambank restoration, check out www.wildlandhydrology.com .
For photos and more information, check out
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Pine-Lake-Streambank-Restoration-The-Dredge/109652302459010?sk=wall
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
The Dam,The Berm, The Dike, The Impoundment,The Streambank
Police Chief Purvis/Mayor I.B. Melton
Call it what you will. The earthen dam that separates the lake from the creek will be completely re-sculpted over the next several weeks.
Created in 1952, the dike (as it was referred to then) was created to the best of the city's ability at the time. Unfortunately this included planting trees which over time have become a threat to the structural integrity of the earth that keeps the lake out of the creek--and vice versa.
At the start of the lake project thirty-one trees were originally marked for removal. The dam was reevaluated early last week and it was determined that more trees will need to be removed than was first expected. Removal will begin within the next week or two. This is unfortunate, to say the least, but obviously very necessary. Parts of the trees will be repurposed to create habitat; apparently the remains of a Christmas tree can be seen in the lakebed surrounded by indications of fish activity.
Dozens of stakes were inserted into the lakebed last week. Each of these indicates the depth of the dig in that area, so please don't remove them. There will also be "plateaus" created in the lake bottom to give our fish places to lay eggs.
In case you missed the second round of fish relocation last Thursday, an estimated 2500 fish were taken from the small pool of remaining water and transferred into the creek, one basket at a time.
We've been told to expect equipment to move in by the end of this week or early next week. Of course, any rain can greatly affect the timeline.
For photos and more information, check out http://www.facebook.com/pages/Pine-Lake-Streambank-Restoration-The-Dredge/109652302459010?sk=wall.
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