With an estimated 22,000 cubic

yards of silt to be dredged from Lake Peachtree this summer, the Fayette

County Water System is looking for places it can access the lake.

One of the access points being

considered is the northernmost part of Drake Field, which is currently

owned by the Development Authority of Peachtree City. That is not the

only option, however, City Engineer Troy Besseche told the authority at

its regular meeting Monday.

Crews might be able to use

the southern part of Drake Field to stage equipment, which is owned by

the city, Besseche noted. Another option has crews using part of the Picnic

Park area to perform their operations, which shouldn't affect users of

the picnic shelter or the All Children's Playground, which is also located

there.

Those two options are more

ideal since most of the silt that needs to be removed is in those areas,

Besseche said.

Development Authority Chairman

Tate Godfrey said his main concern was that if the authority's property

is used, it should be returned to its original condition after the project

is complete.

Besseche said that using the

northern portion of Drake Field would allow the trucks used for the project

to access the area directly off Highway 54 instead of going through the

City Hall parking lot, which is used by many pedestrians.

"We are still considering

all of these options," Besseche said. "The county or the city

may be approaching you in the near future," to seek use of the northern

part of Drake Field.

Development Authority member

Scott Bradshaw suggested that the silt could be used to build another

island in the lake. But Besseche noted that 22,000 cubic yards is a lot

of silt to try and do that.

"Plus, if it got too big,

you might see a rezoning petition," Godfrey joked.

Development Authority member

Robert Brooks said since the dredging must take place on a regular basis,

it would be smart to plan for that in advance so the same location could

be used in future years.

The water system is required

to dredge the lake every several years as part of its contract with the

city to use Lake Peachtree as a reservoir.

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