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FEATURE PROJECT: Lake Wa Con Da Restoration
Feature Method: Dredging by Design
15 years
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OnTrack
Lake Wa Con Da residents wanted a cleaner and deeper lake. The Schemmer Associates, Engineer for the project, were brought in by the landowners to develop cost estimates and timelines for various alternatives. After alternatives were chosen, General Excavating was hired to dredge the lake while keeping the lake open to boat traffic. The project goals were to clean the silt from the lake for water clarity, to deepen the lake for boating safety, and to lower the floor from 6-feet to 11-feet to increase fish growth and population.
An 85-acre discharge containment area with drainage dikes had to be built for the discharge of silt sediments. During this process, crews had to bore 400 feet under the main entryway with 12-inch HDP Pipe and lay over 5,000 feet of discharge pipe up to a mile away. Using two dredges enabled General Excavating to dredge over 300,000 cubic yards of silt in less than one year, all while letting water activities such as boating and skiing continue. A small dredge was used to clean around the 300 docks on the lake.
According to Eric Dove, Water Resources Department manager for The Schemmer Associates, "General Excavating was able to plan and execute construction with the least impact to the homeowners while keeping performance high. Several positive comments were received from the homeowners, which is impressive considering the numerous lots involved".
"Next year's boating and swimming season will be much cleaner than previous years because of the completed restoration process. Not only is it cleaner and deeper, but it also looks much better", says Mike Stewart, Operations Manager for Nebraska Dredging, a division of General Excavating.
The next time you are swimming in a lake or pond, take a look at the clarity of the water. Is it murky? Is it dirty? Are your feet slipping on weeds or is mud sliding between your toes? The process of dredging can help you answer no to these questions. Dredging is a fairly simple process. A hydraulic dredge looks and floats like a large pontoon boot. However, its state-of-the-art cutter head sinks to the bottom of the lake floor and cuts away the silt, mud, weeds and sludge. This material is then sucked through a discharge pipe and drained up to a mile away.
1. The City of Ceresco recently upgraded their municipal water supply. General Excavating was hired to install over 17,000 lineal feet of water main by means of directional boring. "This method minimized disruption through town and was cost effective due to the narrow right-of-way", comments Jim Brunner, Project Manager. The design engineer and construction manager for the project was Olsson Associates.
2. General Excavating recently completed an environmental remediation project in Ong, Nebraska for Terracon Consultants. The project consisted of removing contaminated soils by excavating and placing a filter pack nearly 18-feet deep. Venting tubes and a vacuum attachment were used to remove the vapors.
This picture illustrates the trenching for sanitary server pipe at Botanical Gardens in Omaha, Nebraska. The work is being performed for Kiewit Construction Co., the General Contractor.