Delavan Lake dredging project remains murky
IF YOU GO
What: Informational meeting about dredging in the Delavan Lake inlet.
When: 5 to 6 p.m. Tuesday
Where: Delavan Town Hall, 5621 Town Hall Road, in Delavan Township.
Details: Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources staff will talk about the town of Delavan’s application for a permit to dredge the lake. Public questions and comments will be welcome.
For more information: Request a copy of the department’s environmental assessment from Pam Schense, water management specialist. Call (262) 574-2136 or e-mail at pamela.schense@wisconsin.gov.
If you can’t go: Mail written comments to Pam Schense, 141 NW Barstow St., Waukesha, WI 53188 by July 2.
DELAVAN TOWNSHIP — The town of Delavan hopes the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources can bring clarity—and lower prices—to plans for dredging the Delavan Lake inlet.
The town has applied for a DNR permit for the work. The DNR on Tuesday night will host a public information session about the project.
The town last month rejected two bids for the project. Both came in higher than the $950,000 estimated.
A Pennsylvania company bid $3 million, and an Indiana company $1.9 million.
Before that, the town rejected a $1.53 million bid.
Officials hope a permit will clarify the project and encourage lower bids.
The DNR will approve or reject the permit application within 30 days of the information session.
According to town and DNR documents:
The town wants to dredge a 3,000-foot channel in the inlet upstream of the Highway 50 bridge. The channel would vary from 85 feet to 250 feet wide.
Workers would remove about 45,000 cubic yards of sediment.
A series of underwater and aboveground pipes would carry the sediment to a one-acre, town-owned field so the water can be removed. The pipes also would return the filtered water to the lake.
The town plans to have the sludge that’s left over trucked to OCI Enterprises’ gravel pit off Highway 67 for disposal.
The DNR does not anticipate this project will have significant environmental impacts and does not anticipate creating an environmental impact statement.
If the DNR approves the permit and the town accepts a bid, it’s not clear if work will start this year, said Dorothy Burwell, town board chairwoman.
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