Mastadon Lake dredging about to begin

The City of Aurora, in partnership with the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, Illinois State Representative Barbara Hernandez, D-Aurora, and Semper Fi Land Services Incorporated, will host a groundbreaking ceremony on August 12 to commemorate the start of the historic Mastodon Lake Dredging and Shoreline Restoration Project. 

The groundbreaking event comes on the heels of the City receiving a $4 million grant from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to help clear sediment and decaying organic matter at the bottom of the Lake. 

According to the City, Hernandez played a pivotal role in securing the grant funding, which will alleviate the cost of the project on the City’s stormwater management fund. The project is expected to greatly beautify the Lake and promote additional recreational activity both in the Lake and on Mastodon Island.  

A local veteran-owned contractor, Semper Fi Land Services Incorporated, will be performing the work on the Lake, which will include a complete reshaping of the bottom of the Lake, creation of stone access points for visitors, installation of aeration fountains and directional circulators, and plantings that will filter runoff into the Lake.