SLO kicks off multi-year effort to clean up Laguna Lake
The city of San Luis Obispo has begun work on a phased Laguna Lake dredging project that marks the “first steps towards restoring Laguna Lake over time.”
The $715,000 project — funded through sales tax Measure G-20 money — kicks off a multi-year plan to remove sediment that has drained into the lake from Prefumo Creek and other watersheds.
The dredging excavator was delivered on Sept. 10, city public communications manager Whitney Szentesi said, with the hydraulic dredging process scheduled to begin on Monday.
The dredging process is expected to take eight to 10 days.
Laguna Lake has long experienced blue green algae and the accumulation of naturally occurring contaminants.
“Over the years there has been a lot of sediment flowing into the lake because Prefumo Creek was re-routed in the early 1960s, which is creating additional management issues that we must now address,” Bob Hill, the city’s natural resources manager, said in a news release. “Just like city streets, the condition of the lake will continue to deteriorate if we don’t maintain it regularly.”
On average, one to three inches of sediment drain into the lakebed each year, with runoff from the Prefumo Canyon, Sycamore Canyon, and Los Osos Valley watersheds.
The city plans to repeat the dredging once every other year to maintain the lake and improve water quality.
“This maintenance program will also establish regular water quality monitoring,” the release noted.
During the current dredging project, some parking spaces and some holes at the disc golf course may be temporarily closed, the city said.
“But the disc golf course, hiking trails, playground and dog park will all remain open,” San Luis Obispo officials noted.
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