Another option would be to do nothing, to simply let sediment accumulateīut the problem with sediment buildup is that it reduces the depth of But each of those plans poses its own problems,

More frequent dredgings,įor example, would allow less buildup. Pond or to avoid the need to do so, Hartwell says. Various plans have been discussed for alternative ways to dredge the Matter and dirt downstream into the pond bed. Over the years, the Mill River washes excess silt, sand, leaf Not much can be done to avoid sediment buildup in Paradise Pond, says However, the DEP lowered that limit, rendering the sediment unfit for uplandĭisposal and illegal for use on lawns and gardens. Of Environmental Protection allowed such use as long as the sediment's hydrocarbonĬontamination level did not exceed the DEP's mandated limit. To buy truckloads of the silt and soil to use as fertilizer. Useful for fertilizing grass on the landfill's exterior slopes.

The landfill, says the nutrient-rich Paradise Pond sediment is particularly Northampton health agent Peter McErlain, who oversees the operation of Truckloads of the stuff to the landfill, where it'll be used for cover. The dredgers work in eight-hour shifts for two weeks straight.īy the time they finish they will have hauled about 17,000 tons or 1,000 trucks in rotation haul the sediment out to West StreetĪnd up Route 66 to the Northampton landfill off Glendale Road, some five Of 1974, '82 and '90, 'and we'll probably have to do it again in 2006,'Įight Warner Bros. He has records of dredgings in the summers It's a procedure that needs to be done every eight years or so, reports

The excess sediment built up over the years is being scooped up and hauled Took a substantial rainfall to give the crew team enough water to row Physical Plant had hoped to refill the pond with water by early September.īut extended drought conditions during August made that impossible. Then it movesĪfter the dredging of Paradise Pond this summer, Smith's Sediment) from the pond's floor and dump it in the truck bed. The truck stops just longĮnough for a front-end loader to scoop a ton of mucky sludge and dirt (called Truck lumbers along the athletic field access road and veers off into theĬracked, dusty bed of the drained Paradise Pond.

Like clockwork, every few minutes another 20-ton, 10-wheel Mack dump

Dredging pond dep