HOWELL – A resident has expressed his support for the dredging of Lake Louise on Lanes Pond Road in Howell.
The issue initially came to the attention of the Township Council in July when a resident asked if Lake Louise could be dredged. Municipal officials put the cost of such a project at an estimated $5 million.
During the Aug. 13 council meeting, resident Bob Morris said he read the Tri-Town News article, which reported on the July meeting when the possible dredging of the lake was discussed.
“I grew up at that lake since I was 5 years old and I have been fishing there to this day,” Morris said, before asking if any grant funding may be available for a project to dredge Lake Louise.
Deputy Mayor Evelyn O’Donnell asked Jim Herrman, who is Howell’s director of community development, if grant funding would be available.
Herrman said the full amount was not available, but he said officials would apply for funding if they become aware such funding is available. He said a plan that is almost complete would include a dam and bridge replacement, and realigning and widening Lanes Pond Road.
“It’s basically an Echo Lake (improvement project) all over again,” Herrman told Morris. “We are going to try to improve the area you are talking about, and potentially add a small floating dock like we did at Echo Lake, and now at Aldrich Lake and Sparrow Lake.”
Resident Kathy Novak is an alternate member of Howell’s Lake Restoration and Wildlife Management Committee and she took issue with Herrman’s previous comments about Lake Louise.
In July, Herrman said members of the committee were not receptive to the idea of spraying the lake to eliminate aquatic pests and wanted to see it dredged. Herrman said he agrees the lake needs to be dredged, but said it would be a decision to spend $12,000 (spraying) or $5 million (dredging).
Spraying Lake Louise would require Howell officials to obtain permits from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and to hire an authorized consultant.
“It was not a flat out ‘no’ with no reason why spraying was not recommended,” Novak said, adding that spraying to eliminate aquatic pests is not practical.
“Chemical treatment is not practical or cost-effective. Dredging to a depth of 10 feet or deeper is the best and most permanent control measure,” Novak said.
She said Lake Louise, Sparrow Lake and Bear Swamp Pond do not have the depth necessary to make chemical treatment a viable solution.
“Although each body of water has a problem with aquatic pests, their depth is significantly deficient, less than 3 feet in all three bodies of water. Chemical treatment would only be a temporary fix for a more permanent solution. The more permanent solution is to dredge each lake to a depth of 10 feet or more,” Novak said.
She said the impression she got from watching a video of the council’s July meeting was that the members of the Lake Restoration and Wildlife Management Committee just said no to spraying and she said there was more to it than that.
