The Lake George Association has constructed a new sediment pond at English Brook. The pond is designed to capture hundreds of tons of sediment before it enters Lake George.
The Lake George Association has completed the construction of a new sediment basin at the mouth of English Brook in the town of Lake George at the southern end of the lake. Construction was completed during the last week of October. The 150-foot long sediment basin was designed by the Warren County Soil and Water Conservation District (WCSWCD) with financial assistance from the LGA. The basin will slow down the flow of water and allow sediment to fall out prior to entering the Lake. Grass pavers were also installed to enable future access to the site so that it can be maintained. The basin will be cleaned out every one to two years, when it reaches about 50-75% capacity. Each time it is cleaned out, roughly 300-400 cubic yards of material will be removed.
After Tropical Storm Irene, English Brook changed its route near its mouth: it started flowing in the same path that it did nearly 50 years ago, prior to the construction of the Northway. The last 300 feet of the brook now flows in a northeasterly direction. After input from the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), it was determined that the stream should remain in place and the basin installed where the stream is currently flowing.
This picture, taken in November 2010, shows the path that English brook took before Tropical Storm Irene and the delta forming in Lake George.
In the aftermath of Tropical Storm Irene, WCSWCD used funds provided by the DEC to pull out trees, remediate the streambank and recreate capacity in the brook. The remainder of these funds will be used to complete more of the projects outlined in a WSCSCD 2008 English Brook Watershed Study, and the LGA will provide supplemental funding for these where possible.
English Brook is one of eight major brooks flowing into Lake George. “LGA lake saving projects make a huge difference to water quality, because stormwater runoff is the number one source of pollutants entering Lake George,” said Randy Rath, LGA project manager.
Since the construction of the Northway, the shoreline near the mouth of English Brook has moved significantly. A cottage that was once right on the lake now sits several hundred yards back. The DEC lists the brook as sediment impaired, and its delta is one of the largest on Lake George. According to National Urban Runoff Program reports conducted during the 1980s, English Brook has high levels of total phosphorus, chlorides, total suspended sediments, lead and nitrate-nitrogen.
Dave Wick, executive director of the Warren County Soil and Water Conservation District, stands at the current Lake George shoreline near the mouth of English Brook, and looks back at a cottage that was located at the water’s edge some 50 years ago. Construction of the Northway increased the amount of sediment carried downstream and caused the location of the shoreline to change significantly.
English Brook is located just north of Lake George Village at the Lochlea Estate. Earlier this summer, the LGA installed a $49,500 Aqua-Swirl stormwater separator on the property, as part of a $100,000 stormwater project. This system is collecting previously untreated stormwater runoff from both the east and west sides of Rt. 9N, as well as the bridge between the two exits at Exit 22 on Interstate 87. The majority of the runoff in a 48-acre subwatershed is now being captured and treated.
Further upstream, at the Hubble Reservoir, the LGA hired Galusha Construction to remove a non-functioning sluice gate and valve that were making it difficult to maintain the site. The site was dewatered and almost 600 cubic yards of sediment were removed in 2009. This reservoir is slated for cleaning again in 2012. The LGA acquired funding for all of the English Brook projects through grants from the Helen V. Froehlich Foundation and the New York State Department of State and the Environmental Protection Fund, with additional funding for the Aqua-Swirl project provided by the Lake Champlain Basin Program.
Now that much of the needed upland work is complete, the culminating lake saving step for English Brook is to remove the sediment that has built up in the delta in Lake George over the course of generations. The nutrient-rich sediment in deltas supports invasive plant growth, hampers fish spawning, and harbors nuisance waterfowl. By removing the delta, safe navigation is restored, the health of the Lake’s fisheries improves, the Lake returns to its original bottom, and property values are retained.