Whitaker Pond Dredging

The forebay of Whitaker Pond was excavated and installed in the winter of 2010 with the purpose of capturing sediment outfall from the White Bear Lake stormsewer as it outlets into the pond. Over the years, sediment builds up, and must be removed , which was done on Tuesday, October 20th by Ramsey County Public Works. Sediment removal is a part of regular maintenance for stormwater ponds, restoring holding capacity and preventing further pollutant and nutrient outflow to the Pond, and downstream to Lambert Creek.

Forebays are artificially-created bodies of water that are designed to be a separate holding area for water flow either in, or out of a water source. In this case, Whitaker Pond's forebay was designed to be an outfall for the sediment being flushed from the stormsewer collecting runoff from over 620 acres of suburban development north of the Pond, mostly from the City of White Bear Lake.

Two important consequences result from the forebay at Whitaker Pond. The basin is separate from the main pond and prevents sediment from flowing throughout the entire pond, isolating sediment dropout to one area with a designated access point for sediment removal by means of an excavator. The other benefit is reduced nutrient release downstream into Lambert Creek. Pollutant and nutrient molecules bind to sediment particles, essentially locking them up and keeping them from being dissolved or floating in the water, keeping them from being available for excess aquatic plant growth.


WhitakerDredging-13.JPGWhitakerDredging-12.JPGWhitakerDredging-11.JPGWhitakerDredging-2.JPG

More news

View all news