City Finalizes Quarton Lake Dredging Plans, Work to Begin Oct. 1

Work can now begin on dredging , after the Birmingham City Commission voted Monday to hire Inland Lakes Landscaping Corp. of Pontiac to complete the $226,000 project that’s expected to stretch into next spring.

The project involves removing sediment from the bottom of Quarton Lake with the intention of keeping the Rouge River flowing smoothly and the lake clear.

The city last undertook a major dredging project at Quarton Lake in 2002. Being the first dredging in nearly 30 years, the amount of sediment and silt removed was so large, a silt trap was built at the north end of lake to prevent sediment from flowing into the entire lake.

In 2009, the city conducted a survey of sediment conditions in the lake and reported that another dredging project was not only needed, but would cost the city $300,000.

However, such a project wasn’t in the city’s budget in 2009, Assistant City Engineer Brendan Cousino said, and the project was delayed until this fall.

The project — scheduled to begin Oct. 1 — will include several stages, noticeable to many living in and around Quarton Lake, particularly those residents on Lake Park Drive.

• A dredging contractor will bring equipment to the lake that will float on the water’s surface.
• A hydraulic dredge will suck the sediment off the lake floor and into drying bags in a grassy area on the western shore, along Lake Park Drive. Approximately 400 cubic yards of sediment will be removed from the lake.
• The drying bags will be fenced off for a month while water leaches out of the silt.
• After one month, the contractor will open the bags and load the sediment into trucks, where it will be taken to a landfill.

After the sediment has been hauled away, the trail running alongside Quarton Lake will be reopened to the public. The grassy area where the drying bags will be located is expected to undergo damage, Cousino said, and will be reseeded in May.

To ensure that such large-scale dredging projects don’t become a regular occurrence, Cousino said the city's is recommending setting aside a smaller drying area north of the Oak Street bridge alongside the Rouge River. This will allow the city to conduct dredging every year, Cousino said. The cost for such a project has not yet been finalized but will be presented as part of the 2012-13 city budget.