Work planned for Mill Pond in Menomonee Falls

Menomonee Falls - Come fall, the village plans to remove 7,500 tons of sediment from Mill Pond that has built up around Lepper Dam.

The last time the village dredged behind Mill Pond was in 1994. Based on Department of Natural Resources permit requirements, 5,000 cubic yards is the maximum amount of sediment that can be removed. In 15 years, about four feet of material has built up behind the dam, getting close to the spillway.

"The dredging is something we needed to handle relatively soon, so we moved the project over to take advantage of permitting with the DNR," Director of Engineering Tom Hoffman said.

The village is working closely with the DNR on the project, which will begin after Labor Day so frozen material instead of wet material is removed. Should the material be removed during summer, a stiffener would have to be placed on the sediment beforehand.

The dam will be drawn down after Labor Day to ensure turtles have found a place for winter and are not disturbed, Hoffman said, basing this off of guidelines from the DNR.

Once drudged, the material will be taken by Waste Management to the Falls landfill site. Hoffman said they plan to transport the material down Roosevelt Drive to avoid the busier sections of the village on Water or Main Streets.

The village aims to complete the project by spring of 2014. New gates will be placed on the dam in October and any restoration that is necessary, such as grass restoration, will be handled in 2014.

"Weather dependent, we'll get it back up as quickly as we can," Hoffman said.

Mill Pond is stocked with fish every year by the village, Public Works Director Arlyn Johnson said. The plan is to restock the pond in time for the 2014 fishing derby in Menomonee Falls.