Lake Decatur Dredging Project

The Lake Decatur project increased the water storage capacity for the City of Decatur, Illinois, by 30 percent, while also meeting future water demands and enhancing tourism by providing recreational offerings. Dredging included both maintenance and deepening work in Basins 1 to 4, and removal of silts from sediment traps in Basins 1 and 6. The work also involved the rehabilitation of the Oakley Confined Sediment Basin by raising the existing berm by 10 feet, which required over 769,000 cubic yards of earthwork. The dredge material was excavated and pumped through approximately 10 miles of discharge pipeline to the Oakley Confined Sediment Basin. As a cost savings measure, and to reduce unnecessary air emissions, GLDD utilized electric dredge plant and boosters.