Fawn Lake Update: November, 2015

Submitted by Laura Bullock

The Fawn Lake Committee, comprised of Bedford residents and several members of key Town of Bedford Committees, haa been meeting monthly since early summer regarding the fate of our beautiful lake. This spring consultants provided the town with 15-20 options which ranged from doing nothing and letting the lake turn in to wetlands, all the way to a full dry dredge, which would require emptying the lake, dredging it to the original depth, and filling it back up again. T

he committee also provided estimates of costs involved, and pros and cons of each option. Over time the Committee, along with its consultants, have narrowed down the most appropriate choice which includes biggest bang for the buck, to a wet dredge. A wet dredge would NOT involve draining the lake, however it would include dredging the majority of the lake 12-acre lake to its original depth, approximately 8′.

So now what?

It is with high hopes that the committee will be presenting the findings, options and decisions to the town in March for a vote to use Community Preservation Committee (CPC) funds to pay for this project. If this project is agreed upon by the citizens, there will be initial costs used for the design of the project, to be followed by the dredge. CPC funds are available for the design phase, which could begin next summer. However funds to dredge the lake will not become available until the summer of 2018 (which is the beginning of the town’s Fiscal Year 2019).

I’ve tried to provide a quick overview of what is going on. Check the town’s website for information on the next meeting if you would like to come and hear more detail, and of course I can try an answer any questions you may have in the meantime.

Cost

Anywhere from $1M-$2M. A large part of the costs involve what is done with the muck after it is pulled out of the lake. Depending on where the muck goes will determine costs.

The Muck

The muck itself, when initially dredged, could contain a large amount of water. This makes it heavy to dispose of. If the muck were put somewhere to dry out, it would be not only substantially lighter, but the volume of muck would be dramatically smaller as well. How much Muck are we talking about? A lot. Dredging 9 +/- acres of the lake would pull out approx. 18,000 tons of wet vegetation and would require approx. 600 tractor trailer dump loads to haul it away. If the muck has been dried, it would be about 6000 tons and 200 tractor trailer loads. To give you another visual, if the dried muck were spread out on the ground it would cover an acre of land, 4’tall.

Options

One option is installing ‘baffles’ on part of the outskirts of the lake that would contain the muck. These baffles would allow the water to gradually drain back into the lake and leave us with a dry ‘seaweed’. It appears the muck is free of toxins and could have a variety of local uses. Some creative ideas tossed around by the committee include using it to create a better trail system around the lake. Creating another ball field maybe near Job Lane School. Filling in areas along the rail bed where steep drop offs exist. Improving the trail and area that extends from Sweetwater Ave up to Fawn Circle. This dried out muck could also possibly be used as fertilizer.

Fix

The wet dredge could keep the lake vibrant and free of muck for 50-100 years, or beyond. It is possible that light maintenance of the lake (ie: herbicides) could be used at some point in the future to help keep the vegetation at bay before it gets out of control. An aeration system to enhance circulation and maintain better oxygen levels in the lake should help with preventing another fish kill. Would be nice to see the lake teeming with fish again!

What about just using herbicides?

The problem is that once the vegetation is killed with herbicides, it sinks to the bottom of the lake and over time this silt builds upon itself creating a shallower lake – which is exactly what has happened the last 15 years or so. Combining this option with hydro-raking has been tried too, but it is a short time fix, 2-3 years, and then there is the cost of hauling away the muck. Over time these two methods will cost much more than the wet dredge, and will not solve the problem.

Dam

And then there is the issue of the dam near the Springs Road entrance. At some point in the not too distant future this dam will need to be rebuilt. Whether it is town funded, state/federally funded or a combination of the two, is yet to be determined, but this project is being looked into at the dredge design phase of Fawn Lake so that efforts aren’t duplicated or wasted.