Canonsburg Lake restoration starts
The McDowell Lane bridge over Canonsburg Lake connects Peters and North Strabane townships.
The McDowell Lane bridge over Canonsburg Lake connects Peters and North Strabane townships.
Temperatures in the teens don’t dissuade ducks from swimming in Canonsburg Lake.
The first steps to restore the 73-year-old man-made Canonsburg Lake started Jan. 11 after a $1,065,000 contract was awarded to Allison Park Contractors to construct an access road and sediment collection basin.
Phase one – building an access road from McDowell Lane to the lake, a forebay and rock weir – is scheduled for completion in September because of a Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission requirement that no work take place from March 1 through June 15. A boat commission official said construction equipment might occupy the parking lot, but neither it nor the boat launch area will close to the public because of construction.
The Canonsburg Lake Restoration & Improvement Committee is still trying to raise nearly $2 million for dredging and other aspects of the lake’s revitalization.
“We need big bucks. We’re going after corporate sponsors, but it’s been a catch-22 of sorts up until this point. It’s tough to convince a company to donate to a regional asset and put the money in the bank when we couldn’t award a contract until we had at least this much to show,” said committee president Debra Valentino.
The group has raised $1.7 million to date, according to Susan Morgan of Washington County Redevelopment Authority.
“That’s money to pay the engineering company, Michael Baker; the contractor; and some other costs. They first got Local Share Account money in 2011 and again in 2012, but not since. Now that they have something to show that work is going on, I believe they’ll have a better chance this and next year to win an award of funds,” Morgan said.
The recent fundraising efforts came down to the wire in December after the final of four delay requests to The Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development to stay a $500,000 grant because an unsigned contract was honored. And the money stayed.
“Seeing them sign that contract on Jan. 4 brought tears to my eyes. There’s only eight of us (on this committee) and we’ve worked very, very hard, and we’re starting to see what we set out to do 17 years ago come to fruition. We saved the lake; now we have to restore it. I’m elated that we’ve succeeded in this first step,” Valentino said.
To prevent damage to the ecological system in and around the lake, the plan is to dredge the lake and prevent more sediment buildup with a forebay basin.
“That sediment choked the oxygen levels in the water and that affects the fish, the turtles, the frogs and snakes, the entire ecosystem. And then that sediment becomes exposed mud, which invites weedy vegetation and further disrupts a lake system,” Valentino said.
The dredging and disposal of sediment and mud could be an expensive component of operations, Morgan said.
“Right now, those costs for landfill disposal are pretty high. If a private landowner could be found, that could be significantly reduced,” she said.
More information and private donation links can be found at www.savecanonsburglake.org.