Because of

a delay in getting the project started and numerous rains before it got

underway, it will cost more money to dredge Lake Peachtree than originally

planned.

County consulting

engineer David Jaeger said the extra cost will end up around $75,000.

The entire contract was originally set at $632,000, but that was based

on excavating a certain amount of the silt, Jaeger explained.

The original

survey for the project which called for 22,000 cubic yards of silt to

be removed was performed months before the dredging process began, Jaeger

noted. After the survey, silt continued to collect at the lake bottom,

also because of rains the area received, he said.

The Fayette

County Commission approved spending more money for the dredging project

so it could avoid having to lower the level of the lake, which could have

cut short the county's water supply temporarily and perhaps caused environmental

damage.

The commission

instead could have saved money by going with a less expensive process

to remove the silt that would have required lowering the lake's level.

But the county had plenty of funds on hand for the project due to revenues

from water bills.

The county

must dredge the lake periodically as part of a contract with the city,

which owns the lake, for using it as a drinking water reservoir.

The project,

which involves excavating the silt to Drake Field so it could dry, included

trucking the dry material off-site.