Dredging of Atascadero Lake scheduled for fall

Work to dredge more of the nearly dry Atascadero Lake is on schedule to take place this fall pending approval from a state agency, according to the city.

The job went out to bid on Aug. 8, and the City Council will consider awarding the contract at its Sept. 9 meeting, according to David Athey of the city's Public Works Department.

Vehicles with scraping equipment will remove two feet off the top of the dry lakebed over about seven acres, Athey said. Hauling off the many years of bird feces, sediment and dead plant life is intended to make the city-owned lake cleaner and deeper when the rains return.

Depending on the bids the city receives, the project could cost anywhere from $180,000 to $250,000 in city funds.

Even though the city owns the lake, several government agencies have jurisdiction over the watershed. Among them is the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board, which Athey said gave its go-ahead for the work to take place through Nov. 21, before the rainy season. The lake bed must stay dry in order to dredge it.

The permit also requires the sediment to be taken to one dumping place, so the state can monitor the effects of its runoff.

The Atascadero Mutual Water Co. has offered one of its properties off Templeton Road, Athey said, noting that the city tested the soil and it’s not hazardous.

The city still needs approval from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to begin the job.

The City Council has taken up dredging as one of its main goals for improving the lake as residents complained about the water disappearing due to evaporation after several years of little rain.

The project will pick up where the city left off when it spent $70,000 on an emergency dredging of the lake’s south end last fall when sediment was removed as the water receded.

Today, a small puddle remains at the center of the lake. All the fish have died, and the ducks and geese that once called the lake home have been relocated by volunteers.

This story was originally published August 28, 2014 at 12:19 PM with the headline "Dredging of Atascadero Lake scheduled for fall."