Long-sought dredging of DeVoe Lake possible

Spotswood officials are taking steps toward the eventual restoration of DeVoe Lake. The Borough Council on Jan. 25 authorized its engineering firm, CME Associates, to obtain topographic mapping of the bed of the lake, located alongside DeVoe Avenue near Main Street. The mapping is part of a checklist of items needed to apply for a permit from the state Department of Environmental Protection to dredge the lake, according to council President Curt Stollen.

Topographic mapping shows the amount of sediment that has accumulated over the years by comparing current features on the bed of the lake with historical data. The mapping, conducted by an aerial photography firm, is used to determine the amount of sediment that could be removed, should the borough move forward with the dredging, engineer Bruce Koch of CME Associates said.

The lake has to be drained in order to conduct the mapping, according to Koch, who said the mapping would most likely commence within the next few months.

The dredging, which has been on the minds of officials and residents for years, is necessary for aesthetic, flooding and public health purposes. In the summer, weeds grow out of control in an unsightly manner, and shallow depths cause horrific odors and an inability to absorb floodwaters, Stollen said.

The council is moving ahead with the application process because it was offered a deal by a third party to receive free dredging in return for the soil, according to Stollen.

“This is an opportunity that has come along, and we have to try and make sure we take advantage of it,” Stollen said. “The contractor needs the soil, and in order to get it he would be willing to remove it.”

The project could cost over $1 million, which Stollen said the borough would never be able to afford without assistance. Under this deal, the only costs to the borough would be those associated with obtaining the permit.

The deal is under a tight timeline because the soil is needed for a specific project and must be acquired within the year, Stollen said.

The borough has already taken several of the preliminary steps necessary to apply for a dredging permit, including soil testing and acquiring approval from Immaculate Conception Church, which owns 9 acres of the 25-acre lake. The church approval and sediment testing were conducted around 2003 when the borough was offered a similar cost-free dredging opportunity, but that opportunity fell through, Stollen said.

If the current opportunity does not come to fruition, Stollen said other methods of restoring the lake would be explored, such as securing monetary assistance through state or federal grants.

The state has indicated that the waterway should be remediated, Stollen said, making it one of the 37 New Jersey lakes eligible for funding under the state Lake Characterization and Restoration Grant program.

“It’s one of the jewels of our town, [but] it’s neglected and beyond our financial ability to fix,” Stollen said. “But we’re exploring every opportunity to get this unsightly area to again be a center jewel of our town.”

In October the borough announced a plan for improvements to the dock and surrounding area through a Middlesex County grant. The money will be used to make walkways along the waterfront of DeVoe Lake, leading from the bridge near the American Legion building toward the dock, as well as to improve accessibility on the dock and build a gazebo-type structure for overhead cover. The borough is now finalizing how the walking path will be constructed, according to Stollen.

“This is a great asset to the borough if it gets cleaned up and if it can happen without the burden being put on our taxpayers,” Stollen said.