Background

Columbia Association owns and maintains over 3,400 acres of permanent open space which includes three man-made lakes: Wilde Lake, Lake Kittamaqundi and Lake Elkhorn. In the past three years CA has completed an intensive effort to restore all three lakes and revitalize their natural, recreational and aesthetic function. CA desires to preserve and enhance these functions in a proactive manner to ensure proper resources are available and committed to minimize loss of natural function and to maximize recreational use and overall enjoyment of the lakes.

Sediment Management Plan Goals

CA solicited proposals from various engineering and environmental services firms to develop Sediment Management Plans for the three lakes that address the following four goals:

  1. Establish and maintain a sediment loading monitoring program.
  2. Establish a sediment removal and management plan.
  3. Develop cost estimate and timeline for plan implementation.
  4. Integrate the Columbia Watershed Management Plan (CWMP) activities.

The Large Lake Sediment Management Plan is actually a compilation of the individual sediment management plans for Wilde Lake, Lake Kittamaqundi and Lake Elkhorn.  The plans present the estimate sediment loading rates and triggers for maintenance dredging for each lake and how they were developed.  The Plans also establish time lines for a number of critical activities including: continued sediment monitoring, maintenance dredging, and the establishment of a dredge material placement site.

Previous Lake Dredging Projects

To maintain Columbia’s beauty and ensure the splendor of our city’s lakes, Columbia Association (CA) performs large scale dredging in Lake Elkhorn in the Village of Owen Brown, Wilde Lake in the Village of Wilde Lake and Lake Kittamaqundi in Town Center.