Lake Altoona Rehabilitation and Protection District

Dredging 2009
The dredging project will resume as early as possible in the spring of 2010 and is scheduled to be completed by the end of the summer. Due to unforeseen delays the project was unable to be completed in 2009. Thanks for your patience and support of this important project. Any new developments will be communicated here.

PDF Map of Dredging Area | PDF Map of Sand Holding Area

The dredging equipment is in place and ready to begin!

Altoona Star Published article on Rehabbing Lake Altoona

December 5th, 2008 by Scott Thiede

If Lake Altoona is to avoid becoming Altoona Marsh, something has to be done with the excessive sediment loads entering the upper end of the lake. Options include a nine-foot drawdown to facilitate mechanical dredging (extensive truck traffic and road damage), or a barge-mounted hydraulic dredge (material is transported as a slurry via miles of pipeline).

The most cost-effective method, previously implemented in 1996 and 1997, has been hydraulic dredging of nonproductive sand flats that have accumulated at the confluence of the Eau Claire River with Lake Altoona. The combination of sand and water is pumped to 50 acres of an 82-acre disposal site located between North Shore Drive and County Highway QQ in the Town of Seymour.

Jerry Stage and his son Mike Stage started JM Dredging, LLC in 2002 to dredge in front of Jerry’s home on Lake Eau Claire. “It was quite an involved planning process,” Jerry said. “All I wanted to do was dredge my area and retire,but it didn’t work out that way.”

JM Dredging began the 2008 Lake Altoona Sediment Reduction Project in July. The two-man outfit recently purchased a new 52-foot floating dredge with a climate-controlled cab and GPS-linked computer-assisted navigation. Large aluminum paddle wheels “drive” on the bed of the lake. In deep water, the large wheels function like - you guessed it - paddle wheels on a boat. At the front of the dredge is a 10-foot-wide, slow-speed cutter-head that claws at the sand to a depth of about three feet. The 450-horsepower diesel engine, burning about 20 gallons of fuel per hour, powers the dredge pump as it moves up to 34,000 gallons of water/sand (5/1 ratio) per minute. On land, the 8,100 feet of 12-inch poly line is interrupted by a 350-horsepower booster pump that sends the sediment slurry to the disposal site.

Much of the carriage water will infiltrate the ground within the dewatering area (the eastern cell) at the disposal site. Any water that does not evaporate or seep into the ground is routed via 2,400 feet of six-inch drain tiles to seep into the ground in the western cell. In 2008, water levels in the western cell did not reach the Eau Claire River outlet pipeline.

A Wisconsin Pollution Discharge Elimination System (WPDES) permit was issued for the groundwater and surface water discharges. The WPDES permit set limits on the amount of suspended solids and pollutants that may be present in the outflow. The sandy river and lake sediment tested free of hazardous substances.
No problems with groundwater “mounding” were detected as a result of the 2008 dredging; this year’s project ended November 1. Groundwater monitoring wells were regularly checked for water level fluctuations and any presence of coliform bacteria.

“My dad and I implemented several improvements for the Lake Altoona project,” Mike said. “People often stopped by to offer encouragement and express appreciation for our work.”
They were working at the upper end of the lake in 2008, and plan to dredge a channel upriver to the boat landing in 2009. The project will include a re-dredge of the sediment trap in the Eau Claire River. The sediment trap – a hole or channel dug into the bed of the river – intercepts about 50 percent of the sediment flowing down the river. Around 2001, the sediment trap received a maintenance dredge of 80,000 cubic yards of sand.

The primary goal of dredging at the delta and in the river is to help prevent sediment loads from moving further into the main (lower) part of the lake, where recreation use is greatest and dredging would be more costly, said Dan Koich, a Department of Natural Resources water regulations specialist.
With a price tag of $2 million, the Altoona Lake District has plans to remove about 232,000 cubic yards of sand during the 2008 to 2009 projects. The district would like to get on a schedule of regular maintenance, but admit dredging costs and the disposal of sand are two primary concerns relevant to future projects.

Lake Altoona Rehabilitation & Protection District
Sand Sales Protocol
September 10, 2008

1. The contact person will be the Town of Seymour representative to the LARPD Board.

2. Sand will be sold by the cubic yard.

3. The Board will determine the price for sand based on the current market.
- Local sales for personal use or for bedding sand: $3.00/cubic yard.
- Large sales for commercial use or long-term sales will be negotiated.
- Prices will be "at the site" (loading and transportation not included).

4. The contact person will be responsible for arranging customer access to the dredge site.