Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation (GLDD) is continuing dredging operations of the 2,800-acre (11 km2) Lake Decatur in Illinois.
During the multi-year project, aimed to restore the lake’s capacity by approximately 30 percent, the company will dredge nearly 11 million cubic yards of material from Lake Decatur Basins 1-4 and will also rehabilitate the Oakley Sediment Basin at the site.
GLDD’s subsidiary, Terra Contracting Services, LLC, will be responsible for the Oakley Sediment Basin rehabilitation portion of the contract.
Last weekend Great Lakes Dredge & Dock moved the dredge, booster pump station No. 1 and several thousand feet of dredge pipe from the area near the South Water Treatment Plant to a new location that is due south of Lost Bridge Road in Basin 1, reported the City of Decatur. Dredging will occur at this location for about a week then move east into the Big Creek area of Basin 1.
If all goes according to schedule, the dredging project, worth approx $90 million, will be completed in late 2019.
Lake Decatur, the largest lake on the Sangamon River, was created after the river was dammed in 1922. The reservoir serves as the primary raw water source for Decatur’s 76,000 residents and large industrial sector. In recent years, the city has been forced to enact water restrictions due to low water levels and drought conditions.