The third installment of The Dredge Report is up and can be found here; it explains a bit about the funding of Pine Lake's dredging project. My interpretation follows below the fold.
Clearly, the dredging would not be happening now and might never happen had it not been for President Obama's stimulus package (you know, the one the Republicans say did nothing for nobody). The Federal government sent stimulus monies to Georgia, which allotted a portion of them in the Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority. The GEFA is a state agency.
GEFA funds will pay only half the cost of the lake restoration project. The other half is the responsibility of Dekalb County and Pine Lake. As best I understand, the rest of the money is coming to the city from the county as allotment for water management. This means there will be no cost to the city-- no bonds, no raised taxes, no fundraisers.
The city has approved contracts to the engineering firm GeoRay, which will plan and supervise the project. The contractor Georgia Development Partners will do the work. A company called AquaPlanet will set up an aquaponics facility and move fish to it from the lake as the lake dries.
The grant proposal was as I understand it not for dredging the lake, but to repair and restore the retaining eathworks around the lake. The dam at the outlet end of the lake will be lowered by one foot, which should help with flooding, and the berm around the back side of the lake will be reinforced and repair. Trees, which are pretty but which contribute greatly to erosion, will be removed, ensuring longevity for the new berm.
A fortunate side effect of this repair will be dredging. The lake won't be super-deep afterward, but the deeper channel will keep the lake's water cooler in hot weather, reducing bacterial counts and keeping the lake open for swimming even on the hottest days. Most of the dredging will happen on the eastern half of the lake, which has at my best guess been less than a foot deep for the entirety of this decade. The western half should require little work, as siltation there has been minimal.
I'm glad an effort is being made to save the fish, some of which are decades old. I'm not sure if all species will be reintroduced as some, like the carp (some of which are frigging huge) are non-native and compete for resources with native species. The lake will be re-stocked when it's full and everything is settled. I'm thinking the aquaponics garden-- which will be near the tennis courts-- may remain as a full-time feature.
Pine Lake's government has been clever and efficient in obtaining the monies for this project at no direct cost to the city. I'm sure some things we would all like to happen-- perhaps work in the swimming area-- might not happen because of the way it was necessary for the grant to be written, but clearly, this project is a lake-- and city-- saving venture. I'm so glad it is happening!
Clearly, the dredging would not be happening now and might never happen had it not been for President Obama's stimulus package (you know, the one the Republicans say did nothing for nobody). The Federal government sent stimulus monies to Georgia, which allotted a portion of them in the Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority. The GEFA is a state agency.
GEFA funds will pay only half the cost of the lake restoration project. The other half is the responsibility of Dekalb County and Pine Lake. As best I understand, the rest of the money is coming to the city from the county as allotment for water management. This means there will be no cost to the city-- no bonds, no raised taxes, no fundraisers.
The city has approved contracts to the engineering firm GeoRay, which will plan and supervise the project. The contractor Georgia Development Partners will do the work. A company called AquaPlanet will set up an aquaponics facility and move fish to it from the lake as the lake dries.
The grant proposal was as I understand it not for dredging the lake, but to repair and restore the retaining eathworks around the lake. The dam at the outlet end of the lake will be lowered by one foot, which should help with flooding, and the berm around the back side of the lake will be reinforced and repair. Trees, which are pretty but which contribute greatly to erosion, will be removed, ensuring longevity for the new berm.
A fortunate side effect of this repair will be dredging. The lake won't be super-deep afterward, but the deeper channel will keep the lake's water cooler in hot weather, reducing bacterial counts and keeping the lake open for swimming even on the hottest days. Most of the dredging will happen on the eastern half of the lake, which has at my best guess been less than a foot deep for the entirety of this decade. The western half should require little work, as siltation there has been minimal.
I'm glad an effort is being made to save the fish, some of which are decades old. I'm not sure if all species will be reintroduced as some, like the carp (some of which are frigging huge) are non-native and compete for resources with native species. The lake will be re-stocked when it's full and everything is settled. I'm thinking the aquaponics garden-- which will be near the tennis courts-- may remain as a full-time feature.
Pine Lake's government has been clever and efficient in obtaining the monies for this project at no direct cost to the city. I'm sure some things we would all like to happen-- perhaps work in the swimming area-- might not happen because of the way it was necessary for the grant to be written, but clearly, this project is a lake-- and city-- saving venture. I'm so glad it is happening!
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