Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Stormwater Infrastructure topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Brookhaven staff recommend targeted dredge to protect Murphy Candler Lake drain; full dredge would cost far more
Summary
City staff told the Brookhaven City Council they found far more sediment in Murphy Candler Lake than expected and recommended an immediate, targeted dredge around the low‑level drain (Option A, roughly $1.17 million) to protect dam functionality; a near‑full dredge (Option B) was estimated at about $5.5 million and would strain proposed stormwater bond resources.
Brookhaven public works and stormwater staff recommended the city move forward with a limited dredging effort around the lake’s low‑level drain to ensure the drain remains operable and to protect the emergency spillway, while continued planning will examine whether a larger, full‑lake dredge should follow.
"That option would be approximately...10,000 cubic yards and 65 working days...that's approximately $1,170,000," said Trejo, the city stormwater presenter, describing the focused effort (Option A) to reestablish the deep pool around the low level drain and restore its function. He said an expanded near‑full dredge (Option B) would be roughly five times the effort — about 5,000 truckloads over 200 working days — with a base estimate near $5,500,000 from the contractor.
Staff told the council the lake had accumulated more sediment than anticipated since prior soundings, likely driven in part by upstream construction near I‑285 and the Ashford‑Dunwoody ramp reconstruction. Trejo said the low‑level drain is the lake’s only means of controlling water without continuous pumping, and that much of the drain pipe is currently covered by sludge.
Council members pressed staff on timing, economies of scale and financing. One council member asked whether costs could be reduced by pairing dredging with current access and dewatering; Trejo said economies exist because the lake is already drawn down and equipment and access roads have been built. Trejo said prior localized dredging in 2019 moved about 800 truckloads at an estimated cost near $800,000 and that a full dredge had last been done in the early 1990s.
Administration and finance staff told the council the finance department is exploring a bond package of roughly $10,000,000 — supported by a recent rate increase — to address a list of priority stormwater projects. Finance staff and the administration said they hoped to include Option A within that financing without eliminating other high‑priority projects; they cautioned that choosing Option B would significantly reduce capacity to fund other items on the priority list.
No formal vote on dredging occurred at the meeting; the presentation ended with staff recommending immediate action on the sediment surrounding the low‑level drain (Option A) and a 30‑day follow‑up to return with updated financing and prioritization recommendations.
Next steps: staff said they will refine recommended scope and cost, coordinate possible contractor negotiations for optimization, and return with specific financing recommendations within about 30 days.
