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Warrensburg outlines Lyons Lake dredging, floating walkway and ADA access plans; 14,000 cubic yards targeted for removal
Summary
Engineers presented a plan to remove about 14,000 cubic yards of sediment from Lyons Lake, add permanent forebays and a roughly 330‑foot floating walkway with ADA access. The Corps of Engineers and city floodplain permits are in place; staff said bids can be issued quickly.
City engineers presented a multi‑part plan to remove sediment and improve public access at Lyons Lake during the Warrensburg City Council meeting.
"We're removing, 14,000 cubic yards of soil off the bottom of the lake," Ben Ross, P.E., of Engineering Surveys and Services, said, describing the project's scale and the intended stockpile location west of the dam.
Ross said the proposal calls for targeted dredging at two northeast forebays and a new forebay on the southeast side of the lake to capture future sediment, construction of a permanent submerged rock berm to help trap material, upgrades to the wooden footbridge on the northeast shore and a new floating walkway across the south side of the lake roughly 330 feet long. The floating walkway would be ADA accessible and include 10‑by‑10‑foot bumpouts at the bridge ends and fishing bumpouts on the north bridge.
The recommended method for sediment removal is to drain the lake by opening the outflow valve, allow exposed sediments to dry sufficiently for earthmoving equipment, then remove material with conventional earthmoving equipment and haul it to a stockpile the city historically used on the west side of the dam. Ross estimated drying time of about four months before heavy equipment could work in the drained area. He said mechanical dredging methods (hydraulic dredging) would be more expensive and less competitive for available contractors in central Missouri.
The plan includes a sediment forebay 9 feet deep in the main capture area and a smaller 4–5 foot forebay nearer the inflow to let heavier material settle. Ross said the design intends that routine maintenance will clear these forebays more frequently, avoiding the need to fully drain the entire lake for future work.
Ross acknowledged environmental and nuisance impacts: the lake drawdown will likely cause some fish mortality and "it could be" odorous during hot weather, he said, and the project team discussed that turtles and other wildlife would be disturbed but not identified as endangered. He also said Geosyntech evaluated sediments to determine safe land‑application locations.
On permitting and timeline, Ross said the city floodplain permit is complete and that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has issued a jurisdictional determination and authorized work under a nationwide permit; with council direction bids could be issued the following week and the city would return to council to present bid results and an award recommendation.
Council members asked about maintenance frequency for the forebays, tree removal along the south bank for ADA path access and potential odors; Ross said maintenance depends on watershed erosion and rainfall and that some trees may be removed to meet ADA grades but the design seeks to preserve as many trees as possible.
Phil Adlidge, interim public works director, said staff brought the project before the council to gather feedback before soliciting bids and noted the project was "ready to go" pending the bidding process and subsequent council approval of a contractor.
No formal vote was taken at the presentation; council and staff agreed to proceed toward public bidding and return with contract recommendations for council approval.
