Dredging effort to clean up Cedar Lake about to begin

May 20, 2023

Workers staffing the dredge that will spend the next three years sucking sediment from the bottom of Cedar Lake say they have heard all the stories of what may be hidden in the lake's murky depths.

Airplanes, a locomotive engine, automobiles, boats, snowmobiles, slot machines, weapons and potentially even the remains of infamous missing teamster Jimmy Hoffa fuel the fodder of speculation on local social media of what secrets may be sunk in the water.

"It's going to be a challenge if we do get into that stuff," Tyler Russell, senior superintendent with Dredge America, said.

Russell and his co-workers Charles Lake and Anibal Nieves will be living in Cedar Lake where they will be spending the next three seasons working 12-hour daily shifts to complete the work.

The dredge arrived at Pinecrest Marina in Cedar Lake on several semi-trailers and was assembled on site. The drill at the front of the barge will churn up the sediment at the bottom of the lake so the dredge can pump it out to the dewatering facility on Parrish Avenue. (Carrie Napoleon/Post-Tribune)

The dredge can suck up most smaller items which pass through a filter on the barge that pulls aside the objects. The team can remove those items from the filter for disposal. If the dredge comes across a larger item, Russell said an excavator on the barge will be used to scoop the item out and it will be brought to shore for disposal.

More than likely, Russell said the type of debris they uncover will be the same as that found in many of the waterways they dredge — fishing gear, weights and anchors and trash.

"And all sorts of old beer cans," Lake said.

The group was on hand Tuesday at Pinecrest Marina in Cedar Lake with the dredge Poseidon, town officials, project engineer Don Oliphant from Burke Engineering, and Bob Gross, president of the Cedar Lake Enhancement Association, for a community open house in advance of the start of dredging early next week.

Members of the public were able to tour the dredge, ask questions and learn more about the $7 million process.

Eric Anderson and his fiance Shylia Hubeler, both of Lowell, have been launching their boat in Cedar Lake for about five years.

Shylia Hubeler and Eric Anderson, both of Lowell, talk on Tuesday, May 30, 2023, to operator Anibal Nieves with Dredge America while on the dredge Poseidon on Cedar Lake.- Original Credit: Post-Tribune (Carrie Napoleon/HANDOUT)

Anderson said since he uses the lake, he wanted to know what was going on. He also operates a drill similar to the one used on the dredge to grind up the sediment before sucking it off the lake bottom, only the drill he works on grinds up roads.

"I think this is good. It will bring back the old times," he said. The couple say they have encountered debris in the lake and are glad to see it will be removed. Once Anderson said he hurt his foot on an abandoned duck blind anchor made from a blue barrel filled with cement. Hubeler said it is not uncommon to find or step on glass in some places.

Hubeler also speculated about what workers may find as the dredging continues. The couple said they too have heard the stories.

"It will be interesting," he said.

Gross said he doubts any of the items that have become urban legend will be found during the process. The dredge will target the shallower areas of the lake, in some cases adding as much as 5 feet of depth once the process is complete.

It is likely the bigger items are in the deeper water, where instead of dredging, alum will be spread to seal the sediment at the end of the project, he said.

Gross said the town and CLEA have been working to inform residents and visitors of the dredging project.

The lake will remain open throughout the process. A series of buoys mark the location of the dredge pipe. Red buoys designate areas where crossing the pipe is prohibited. Green buoys mark the spots where people can cross the pipe. No wake is allowed when crossing the pipe.

Around 11 p.m. on Saturday, May 27, 2023, a boater did not follow the green buoy no-wake crossing area on Cedar Lake and hit the dredge pipe. The impact lodged the propeller in the pipe and ripped out the boat's transmission causing it to sink. The frayed material is the fiberglass from the boat hull. No one was injured. (Carrie Napoleon/Post-Tribune)

Gross said crossing the pipe properly is a matter of safety. A boater Saturday around 11 p.m. crossed the pipe at a high speed, lodging the boat's propeller into the pipe. The torque ripped out the transmission from the boat, tearing a hole in it and causing the craft to sink. The boater had to be pulled from the water but was unharmed.

Signs are posted at all lake access points and Gross said they have been handing out pamphlets to people. Visitors can scan a QR code to get additional information including maps on safely navigating the dredge system.

"We want people to know what's going on," he said.

Efforts to reduce phosphorus and work on the watershed to improve the water's quality have been ongoing since the CLEA was formed. Raw sewage that decades ago flowed freely into the lake has been remediated. Dredging is the culmination of almost four decades of planning and work to make the lake healthier.

Dredging will continue to improve water quality and allow for the return of natural wildlife. Officials said once the process is complete the lake will be stocked with native fish in an effort to return the ecosystem to its natural state.

Gross said he is happy to see the project finally come to fruition after so many decades of talk.

"We’ve done a lot over the years to get to this point," Gross said.

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