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Community Corner

Dredging of Lake Elkhorn to Continue Next June

The Columbia Association has chosen a new contractor to complete the project next year.

Earlier this month the Columbia Association (CA) selected JND Thomas Co. to complete the Lake Elkhorn Dredging Project, tentatively scheduled to begin in June 2012.

According to a CA press release, the contract will cost approximately $3.2 million.

The project will take about five months to complete, Diana Kelly, CA contract administrator for construction and facility services, said in an e-mail this week.

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Kelly explained that JND Thomas will be conducting hydraulic dredging of the lake bottom to remove accumulated sediments, thereby restoring the water-holding capacity and depth of the lake.

This process involves vacuuming sediment or dirt from the lake bottom. The material is then pumped through a pipeline to a dewatering station on shore. Once the water is extracted, the left over material is then hauled off site to a licensed re-use facility, wrote Kelly.

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In an article published in the Baltimore Sun last fall, it was reported that engineers and consultants claimed that after more than 10 inches of rain fell during a single storm in June 2006, sediment has been flowing into the lake at a rate that is 47 percent higher than originally estimated.

In September 2009, CA awarded a dredging contract to Mobile Dredging and Pumping Co., and crews began constructing a staging area and work zone in October.

Winter temperatures forced the operations to be suspended and active dredging began the following March, according to the CA’s website.

CA's contract with Mobile Dredging and Pumping Co. expired in January 2011.

Dredging was discontinued when Mobile Dredging and Pumping filed a $1 million lawsuit against CA in November 2010, citing breach of contract, reported the Times. The company accuses CA of not paying for work and for not completing preliminary sediment surveys.

“There is an ongoing dispute between CA and the contractor as to the quantities of sediment removed from Lake Elkhorn and the contractor’s failure to complete the project according to the contract schedule,” CA officials said in a statement .

Although a new contractor has been selected, this time around any dredging operations will have to wait until mid-June 2012, according to Kelly. She said this is due to Maryland's annual moratorium for all in-water work to protect spawning fish.

The CA will be posting updates on the dredging projects for Lake Elkhorn as well as dredging operations at Lake Kittamaquandi and Wilde Lake on its website.

This story contains updates regarding when the CA's contract with Mobile Dredging and Pumping Co. expired.

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