2016 Dredge Operation Summary

Prepared by: Dan Mullins, Operations Manager

The 2016 dredging operation began April 16 right after the road band was lifted. The maintenance crew had the task of consolidating the material that was taken from the lake in 2015 to the dewatering site that was now dry enough for recollection, pictured below.

This task took approximately two weeks to complete, and involved using our bulldozer to re-pile the approximate 5700 yards of dewatered material. During the dredging operation over the summer the maintenance crew uses the bulldozer to keep spreading material as it is removed from the lake.

The dredging barges were launched at the beginning of the month of May. The maintenance crew moved the barges to Fishermen’s Cove to begin dredging where they had left off last season. Material began being removed from Fishermen’s Cove beginning May 18. The dredging operation continued in Fishermen’s Cove through mid June where another approximate 2500 yards had been removed from the lake. At this point the maintenance crew also had to start preparing for the summer activities and having the amenities ready for the season.

Utilizing our summer help to take care of most of the day-to-day work, general cleanup, trash removal and lawn maintenance allowed us to concentrate on our next area to dredge which was Nature’s Cove. A previous silt pond that was installed in the end of this cove had failed and blown out. This cove is the main inlet for a large agricultural farm on the west side of the lake. From mid June through mid July the maintenance crew removed approximately 1550 yards of material from Nature’s Cove.

Nature’s Cove

The dredging operation continued in July along with the preparation for our summer activities, 4th of July, and our 50th anniversary. It was a very busy summer. With Nature’s Cove complete, the dredging operation then moved to Sugar Creek Cove. Next to the south end of the lake, Sugar Creek Cove had the next significant amount of silt build up and was identified as a cove that has the most boat docks that are unusable due to silt build-up.

A staging area or take out point was installed at the inlet of this cove. The maintenance crew did try to remove material from the inlet of this Cove from land in December 2015 but was unsuccessful due to high water. A staging area or take out point was installed at the mouth of Sugar Creek near beach #2. This staging area had to be installed from land as it was too shallow to do from the water. This takeout point in Sugar Creek will now cut our turnaround time by two thirds. The dredging crew will return to Sugarcreek and keep dredging the south channel up to the takeout point at the east end inlet of this cove. The staging area at beach #2 will be used in 2017 as a takeout point for the fastest turnaround in this cove. The amount of material removed from Sugar Creek last year was approximately 2490 yards.

Below is a map of the lake showing the areas marked that have been dredged:

Looking forward to 2017, we will begin dredging in Sugar Creek. Our turnaround time in 2017 versus 2016 will be much faster with the addition of the staging area/takeout point added at beach 2. This will be a significant improvement in offloading the material. The amount of material still needing to be removed from Sugar Creek will determine the dredge operation for the season.

In conclusion, overall the 2016 dredging operation went very well removing 6,300 yards of material from the lake, fuel cost diagram below:

I would like to add the maintenance crew continuously looks for improvements to increase our efficiency for the dredging operation. I am also pleased to report for the 2016 season there were no injuries involved with the dredging operation or damage to any of the equipment. Within the maintenance department safety is our number one priority on all of the projects and tasks done here at Roaming Shores.

I would also like to mention that many residents took advantage of the topsoil and fill dirt that was made available to the residents free of charge that was located at the maintenance garage. Some residents came to pick up truckloads of material and other residents came with just a 5 gallon bucket to be filled. That service will be available again this year. We will keep material stored this season again at the maintenance garage free of charge for the association members. Looking forward to a successful 2017 season!