Kent Park Lake Might Need To Be Dredged

TIFFIN — Radical remedies may be required to restore good water quality in the lake at Johnson County’s flagship park.It seems likely that the 27-acre lake at F.W. Kent Park, on the state’s long list of impaired waters, will have to be dredged to remove phosphorus-laden sediment in the lake bed, said Johnson County Conservation Director Larry Gullett, who is leading the effort to formulate a plan to rehabilitate the polluted lake.It also may be necessary — though counterintuitive — to cut hundreds, perhaps thousands of mature trees in the lake’s watershed to stem the soil erosion that has been compromising the quality of the lake’s water, Gullett said.“When you walk around our lake and look at it — it’s aesthetically objectionable, loaded with algae — you understand that something needs to be done to clean it up,” said Gullett, who encouraged the Department of Natural Resources to develop a water quality improvement plan for the lake.That plan, released in August, found that poor water transparency caused by algae blooms is the primary reason for the unpleasing appearance of the lake, which was constructed in 1968.The Conservation Department continues to work with members of the public, the DNR and other agencies to develop a rehabilitation plan — a prerequisite for applying for state and federal grants — that Gullett hopes will be completed by November.“Kent Park Lake is on our short list of lakes under consideration for funding,” said George Antoniou, coordinator of the DNR’s highly successful lake restoration program.Lab tests show high levels of suspended algae in the water, poor water transparency, suspended inorganic particles and high levels of phosphorus in the water column, according to the DNR report, which defines the allowable total minimum daily load of pollutants.