The City of San Luis Obispo is preparing for an eight-day dredging of Laguna Lake.
The project is intended to remove sediment that has built up over time within the lake.
“We have a beautiful, natural lake here in San Luis Obispo and we need to take care of it. One of the things we are doing as a city is dredging the lake to make sure that it is sustainable into the future,” said City of San Luis Obispo Public Communications Manager Whitney Szentesi.
The hydraulic dredging of Laguna Lake was part of a plan set long ago.
“This project is part of the city’s Laguna Lake Natural Reserve Conservation Plan and, just like our city streets, we have to maintain our natural resources. This project is going to help us do that. It’s going to be cleaning a lot of sediment that has been building up in the lake over time,” Szentesi said.
Dixon Marine Services will officially begin dredging the lake starting September 20.
The dredging is expected to last until September 28 before additional steps will be taken to restore the lake.
“The overall length of the project will be about two months,” Szentesi said.
The goal of the project is to preserve one of the city’s most important natural resources.
“For the city of San Luis Obispo, we’ve been trying to do this project for several years. It has kind of been decades in the making for our Laguna Lake and we’re excited to get this off the ground,” Szentesi said.
Following the dredging, crews will install large rocks along the water's edge to prevent erosion.
The sediment being removed from the lake will be transported to Cold Canyon Landfill.
