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Highlands Today

State Awards $800,000 For Istokpoga Canal Dredging

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By JIM KONKOLY

Highlands Today

Published: March 7, 2009

SEBRING - With an $800,000 appropriation from the state, the Highlands County Department of Natural Resources will begin dredging residential canals running off Lake Istokpoga.

At least 17 canals will be dredged, but the project could include more of the manmade waterways, said Clell Ford, county lakes manager.

Some of the canals have filled in with organic materials to the point where boaters can't get into Lake Istokpoga during low water levels in the lake.

The Highlands County commissioners applied for the $800,000 state appropriation in January 2008. Ford said the project probably escaped the Legislature's $4 billion budget cutting six weeks ago because it will provide work for contractors.

"We were fortunate to have this project make it through the whole state budgeting process and not be affected by the (budget) cuts," Ford said.

"It was not originally a part of an economic stimulus," he added. "But I think one reason it has not been cut is the fact that it serves as an economic stimulus. This is going to put contractors out there to work, and I'm sure that helped."

The county will hire an engineering firm to manage the dredging project and award contracts for the work through the bidding process.

In 2006, a survey by the county natural resources department found that 42 of the 61 residential canals connected to Lake Istokpoga need dredging or some type of maintenance.

Records show that all of the canals are at least 40 years old, having been built before 1970, and have not been dredged.

Ford said all residents on a canal picked for dredging will have to agree with the work.

"We're going to make sure that all the residents on a canal understand what we're doing, and if one resident on a canal does not want this work done, we'll move on and do another canal," he said.

"If someone has an objection, I'm not going to fight it, because there is enough work out there to keep us going for quite a while."

Muck from the bottom of canals will be taken out until a canal will carry a depth of four feet during the lowest regulated water level of Lake Istokpoga.

Before the dredging starts, natural resources staff will set guidelines for disposal of the material dug out of the canals at nearby properties.

"We have run tests on this material, and we did not find heavy metals, and we did not find contamination," Ford said. "There are nutrients in it, so it would be a beneficial material from that standpoint."

The dredging is expected to begin in mid-June.

Highlands Today reporter Jim Konkoly can be reached at 863-386-5855 or e-mail jkonkoly@highlandstoday.com

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