The long-awaited dredging of Lake Peachtree appears to be close to beginning. Fayette County Administrator Steve Rapson in an Oct. 24 letter said the dredging job is expected to be put out for bids in late December with initial work beginning in January.
However, even after dredging the mostly dry lakebed is completed, the larger issue of when the lake will be refilled is still an unanswered question, pending a decision on rebuilding the dam’s damaged spillway.
Rapson in the Oct. 24 letter to Peachtree City Manager Jim Pennington said sampling of soils and survey fieldwork is complete.
“The soil sampling all came back clean and we are in the process of determining the actual volume to be removed. We are finalizing the hauling route for accessing (Ga. Highway) 54 per Peachtree City’s request, including developing for egress across the drainage swell, cart path and existing landscaping. The temporary driveway permit with DOT (Ga. Dept. of Transportation) has been requested and we expect to hear something back in the next couple of weeks.”
Rapson said the project remains on schedule, with the letting of the actual dredging bid scheduled towards the end of December and with the first dirt to be removed in January. The dredging is expected to be completed in May, city officials said.
Rapson in an Oct. 23 letter to Pennington noted the requirements of the Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District (MNGWPD) pertaining to the water flow between Lake Kedron and Lake Peachtree.
“In support of the Georgia Comprehensive Statewide Water Management Plan and the requirements placed on the county by way of MNGWPD, the county has to monitor the water flow between Lake Kedron and Lake Peachtree,” Rapson said. “The reason for the calibration criterion is to match stream flow estimates to a baseline flow and ensure quality of measurements made in the field between the two lakes. The county is in the final stages of having these water meters calibrated with USGS (U.S. Geological Survey) to determine water discharges from Lake Kedron into Lake Peachtree. This is a rigorous calibration and validation process.”
Continuing the explanation of the process Rapson said, “We have not adjusted the flows (water gates) during this calibration in order to maintain a standard flow and allow rain events to be easier to quantify. This raw data is then combined with other various sources, including but not limited to other USGS flow gages, Ga. Environmental Protection Division water quality sampling stations (both stream, river and lake) and local watershed studies to provide a true baseline of water flow. This is one of the reasons why Lake Kedron is down at the moment.”
Pennington in response said to “proceed as you all are planning as we do not want to hold up the dredging process.”
