Following years of increased pollution and flood potential, the Montgomery County Planning Board has unanimously decided to commence dredging on Lake Needwood; the cost will be approximately 3.8 million dollars.

Over the years, Lake Needwood has seen a major increase in silt buildup, leading to less fishing and boating on the lake. Water quality has also suffered due to the silt buildup, but some speculate that this could also be a result of increased pollution from the public.

RHS senior Tomas Clarke said, “Year after year people have continued to throw trash wherever they please and it’s hard to take two steps around the lake without finding garbage.” The dredging of the lake does not address this issues; clearly, the public needs to address this prevalent issue before it becomes an even larger problem.

Assigned to the dredging of the lake was F.X. Browne, Inc. (the environmental engineering consultants) whose goal is to remove 100,000 cubic yards of sediment. They will go about this by partially draining the lake and removing the sediment buildup with backhoes and bulldozers. They will then dump the sediment between Beach Drive, Needwood Road and the path of the proposed Intercounty Connector.

The primary reason that brought on this decision from the county planning board was the flooding that occurred in June 2006 due to the massive amount of rainfall throughout the month. This caused the water level to rise 25 feet above normal levels, leading to the leaking of the dam. As a result, approximately 2,200 residents living near the lake had to be evacuated so that the leaks could be stabilized.

Lake Needwood has not been dredged in over two decades so it is really no wonder so much sediment has built up. F.X. Browne, Inc also reports that much of the sediment going into the lake is caused by stream erosion. This means that the environmental engineers will have to look at potential stream restoration projects to help solve the problem.

F.X. Browne Inc. also has the aquatic life of the lake in mind, as they hope to take every precaution necessary to ensure that none species is harmed. The lake will be lowered slowly by six inches per day to allow the sediment to dry. This allows the fish needed time to migrate to deeper areas while hibernating snapping turtles will be relocated for their safety.

As far as the community is concerned, they hope that the process will be efficient in helping make Lake Needwood the family friendly park that it used to be. The dredging will help improve the quality of the lake, but it is important to remember that we to have to play our role in making this reality as well. RHS senior William Shook said, “The ground is not a trashcan”.