The lake is a major water source for the City of Frederick.
Frederick, Md (KM) The dredging of Lake Linganore north of Boyers Mill Road has been completed. That announcement was made Thursday morning by Frederick County Executive Jan Gardner.
She said the $21-million project began two years ago, and involved removing 150,000 cubic feet of sediment from the lake. It was transported to the landfill where it will be used as landfill cover.
The 209-acre lake was constructed in 1972, and serves as a major water source for the City of Frederick and a backup water source for the county. “The significant amount of sediment can accumulate over 45 or 50 years. In fact, studies found the upper reaches of the lake–those areas above Boyers Mill Road–lost as much as 60% of their water volume over those four decades,” says Gardner.
The dredging, which involves the use of barge to suck the sediment from the bottom of the lake, was conducted by Maryland Environmental Service. “Over the last six years. MES and its subcontractors successfully planned, designed, permitted and implemented the project on time and within the allotted budget, with active dredging taking approximately two years to complete,” said Dr. Charles Glass, the Director of MES.
He called it “the largest lake dredging project in the state in recent history. And this is actually stimulating other regions of the state to get actual more work done dredging lakes, including an opportunity to dredge Deep Creek Lake in the coming years,” says Dr. Glass.
“The additional volume that has been regained as a result of this dredging project will allow the city to continue to rely on this important water source for many decades to come,” says Frederick Mayor Michael O’Connor. “50 years perhaps before we have to think about trying to go through this exercise again.”
The City of Frederick paid 50% of the costs, with the county chipping in 25%, and the Lake Linganore Association also providing 25%. There was $3-million in grant funding for this project through the Maryland State Department of General Services Capital Grants Program.
By Kevin McManus