Dredging began last week on Whitewater’s Cravath and Trippe lakes as part of the lakes drawdown project, according to information released Monday by city officials to Fort Atkinson Online.
According to the release, after several weeks of preparation within the lake beds — which included a controlled burn, skinning snow and vegetation from the top of the ground, and laying wood matting — Stout Construction, the contractor hired by the city to perform the dredging, began removing spoils last Wednesday.
The controlled burn, the release continued, was performed to help stop the growth of vegetation in the areas where dredging will take place. The skinning of snow and vegetation cleared the ground to expose it to cold temperatures to help facilitate freezing of the ground; the areas to be dredged require 18 inches of frozen ground to allow excavating equipment to drive on it and remove materials, the release noted.
Due to recent warmer-than-expected temperatures, some areas earmarked for dredging had not received “enough frost to begin the process,” the release stated. Wood matting was placed in many locations that did not freeze to allow dredging equipment access into the areas without sinking.
According to the release, work schedules were adjusted as crews prepared to dredge and will continue to be adjusted throughout the dredging process, allowing crews and equipment to access frozen lake beds when the sun is not increasing temperatures and warming the frozen ground. Crews have been most active when skies are cloudy and in the early morning hours. This process will continue in the upcoming weeks.
Crews spent 20 hours dredging Trippe Lake and 10 hours dredging Cravath Lake this past weekend, taking advantage of colder temperatures, the release read.
Evening dredging is anticipated to resume Wednesday, Feb. 9, according to the release.
To learn more about the city’s lakes drawdown project and receive weekly updates, visit https://www.whitewater-wi.gov/520/Lakes-Drawdown-Updates or contact Whitewater Parks and Recreation Director Eric Boettcher by phone: 262-473-0122, or email: EBoettcher@whitewater-wi.gov.
A view from above as wood “mats” are placed in the Cravath and Trippe lake beds. The matting is required to help keep a solid base upon which crews and equipment can move. A process to begin dredging the lake beds began last week, according to Whitewater city officials. Contributed photo.
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