Let’s try again shall we? Yes, Town Council has approved funding to complete the CB Lake dredge after a 5-year delay.
First a little history. CB Lake has been there forever. It was part of a salt marsh, the southernmost part of Myrtle Sound. It was once noted in the Guiness Book of World Records as being the freshwater lake closest to salt water. Now it serves as a strategic retention pond in the center of a park. 65% of all rainfall in Carolina Beach drains into CB Lake. It is still in communication with the ocean via two stormwater pipes from the north side of the lake to the south end of the yacht basin. And it is home to quite a bit of local wildlife.
As it slowly filled in, it held less water and flooded more frequently. In the 2010s it became evident that it must be dredged. In fact, a large area in its center wasn’t even water anymore. It was straight up filling in. In 2016 Carolina Beach issued a revenue bond and raised $26 million for infrastructure projects around town. (water, sewer, stormwater, paving, etc…) $2.7 million was designated for dredging the lake to a depth of 6 – 8’ The dredge material was to be transported to the back of the island and deposited on the MOTSU land by the river.
And then it got all messed up. We deposited the sediment in the wrong place, MOTSU shut the project down, we couldn’t find an alternate place for the sediment and we only finished about half the lake (the west side.) We spent about $1.4 million. (That’s a very short summation of the drama.)
Fast forward to 2022. The eastern part of the lake is about 2 inches deep and it looks terrible. Our current Council (yours truly included) is determined to find a reasonable solution. We think we have.
The plan is to dredge the east side to about 2’ deep, but keep the sediment on site. It will be put into “dredge socks” – permeable bags that will hold the sediment. Vegetation grows through them and they are stacked along the edge of the lake, making the lake surface smaller, but the lake deeper. They work as a living bulkhead if you will. It will also serve to add more useable land for the park. The land on the eastern side of the lake will be much bigger, which is consistent with the CB Lake Park Master Plan.
Click here for a PDF of the Dredge Project and the Lake Master Plan
The price? Roughly $2.5 million. Good ol’ Charlie Miller, our State Representative found us $2 million to help pay for it. Thanks Charlie. Town staff has submitted an application to the US Army Corps of Engineers. (USACE) It is expected to be approved, because they’ve been working with USACE staff prior to the submittal. The approval process could take up to 4 months, then we select a contractor and hopefully go to work this winter.
** For the record, I am not the expert on this subject. Councilman Joe Benson and Town Manager Bruce Oakley helped me write this summation. If everything I wrote is accurate, thank them. If anything is wrong, blame me. **
Ok, on to the my opinion part…
Yes, I think it’s the right solution. Moving the sediment off site is just way too complicated and expensive. It’s the most cost effective proposal. Adding useable land to the park area is a huge plus. The events there are great, but it gets a little tight. It’s consistent with the Lake Park Master Plan. The market people will love it.
It will only be 2’ deep which isn’t ideal, but it’s still an improvement. Plus, by adding another 12” pump we are still increasing the overall stormwater capacity.
My main man Joe Benson says “sitting around admiring the problem isn’t a solution” (or something like that.) It’s been 5 years since the project was temporarily interrupted. It’s time to get this done and move on. Then we can get along with the business of adding a very nice playground feature.
Finally, it’s also the least disruptive. No giant backhoe on a barge and no trucks moving back and forth. More like a couple of boats with a giant vacuum. I want to see this done in an environmentally sensitive way, and I’m sure my fellow council members feel the same way.
We’re fortunate to be getting help from the state and this may only cost us about $500,000. By my calculations that makes my personal contribution as a taxpayer about $61. (See chart.) I can live with that.
Now, about those geese…
Hi Mike, Thanks for the update! What happened to the 1.3 million left over from the 2.7 million designated for the lake project?
It’s still available. It was part of a bond issuance, which means that we can borrow that money. If we don’t use it, it’s just money we won’t have to pay back.
Mike, et Al, thanks so much for this piece and all the work that’s been accomplished regarding the lake. Yes, how about them geese? I actually counted eighty-some last week. No longer cute! They’ve run-off our beautiful other waterfowl, and they foul the sidewalk so it’s practically un-walkable.
I’m in favor of the stated improvements at that seemingly are low cost and environmentally sound, but not as long as the geese will continue to ruin it. Is there a way to remove them safely?
There is. I’m not prepared to go on the record yet, because I’m still gathering information, but yes, they are making things gross.