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Anyone know the facts as to why they wanna drain the crossgates lake just to get the topsoil??? This will be a complete nightmare for the ones that live on the lake.

lilwhitelie wrote:Anyone know the facts as to why they wanna drain the crossgates lake just to get the topsoil??? This will be a complete nightmare for the ones that live on the lake.

Could it be to dredge it.. I know our lake in Cornerstone is filling up fast with dirt.... We will probably have to drain/dredge it soon..

They want to drain it, dig it out, use the dirt for some projects going on, do some work on the lake and dam, then fill it back up. The lake is shallow, probably 4-5-6' deep in most spots. It turns over and has a fish kill ever couple of summers due to low oxygen. Tees it'll be an eyesore for a couple of years, but it needs it.

It will help the lake in the long run. Because of all of the years of lawn fertilizers, goose fertilizer, duck fertilizer and general nutrient rich runoff the lake has a huge supply of phosphorous and nitrogen in the bottom. These are the two nutrients you need to grow plankton (primarily phosphorous). Currently the lake is sooo shallow (more like 3 feet deep in most places) that plankton can grow top to bottom. When we have cloudy days, a late afternoon rain, and its been 90 plus degrees for several days, all the plankton dies (thanks to a lack of sunlight and cold rain). When plankton are alive they produce oxygen (like a tree), when they die they consume oxygen. When they die and consume oxygen, not enough oxygen is left for the fish and they die.

When they increase the depth, by removing the nutrient rich sediment, it will allow the lake to function as a more natural system. Sure, a turnover type fish kill is possible, but less likely to happen.

Pond

^^^yeah that's what I meant

if not body fishes it and keeps fish - they should just leave it like it is, it will be over populated anyway and won't even be worth the effort.

nobody fishes it because there are no fish left in it......I think the fish kills were all shad

DUCKAHOLIC wrote:nobody fishes it because there are no fish left in it......I think the fish kills were all shad

Shad, grass carp, and some other undesirables. Nobody wanted to spend any money on a pond that had a fish kill every 3rd year.

Pond

And the bucket riders have done work on it over the years. I liken it to the Lake Hico effect.

Dig baby dig! 2 years to dry out seems a bit much. Cut that sucka this fall and by august, she'll be crusty.

It should help with the duck and goose problem I rekon. There are some cool looking cross breeds there that would look good on a wall. Not sure how they keep it all dry since there is a big creek that feeds it but digging it out would be great. Not sure who would stock it since it ain't exactly a private lake but it could be nice.

4dawgma wrote:Dig baby dig! 2 years to dry out seems a bit much. Cut that sucka this fall and by august, she'll be crusty.

You are correct. The top foot will be crusty. However, the bottom is so mucky its going to take a loooong time for it to completely dry. If you start too early and break though the crust and fall into the slop, you wont stop until you find some sticks with Chinese writing on them.

Pond

pondman wrote:

4dawgma wrote:Dig baby dig! 2 years to dry out seems a bit much. Cut that sucka this fall and by august, she'll be crusty.

You are correct. The top foot will be crusty. However, the bottom is so mucky its going to take a loooong time for it to completely dry. If you start too early and break though the crust and fall into the slop, you wont stop until you find some sticks with Chinese writing on them.

Pond

This right here. Folks don't understand just how long it takes for a pond/lake bottom to really dry out.

arduckslayer wrote:

pondman wrote:

4dawgma wrote:Dig baby dig! 2 years to dry out seems a bit much. Cut that sucka this fall and by august, she'll be crusty.

You are correct. The top foot will be crusty. However, the bottom is so mucky its going to take a loooong time for it to completely dry. If you start too early and break though the crust and fall into the slop, you wont stop until you find some sticks with Chinese writing on them.

Pond

This right here. Folks don't understand just how long it takes for a pond/lake bottom to really dry out.

Well a gubment employee isnt someone I'd be listening to for anything

dig it with a drag line.