The dredging of Jackson Pond, a 2-acre body of water in Columbia?s Long Reach Village, has been postponed until at least mid-June and could cost more money than anticipated.
“You never like a postponement, but you also can?t postpone bureaucracy,” said Village Board Member Victor Bailey.
The $800,000 dredging process, which removes accumulated sediment at the pond, was scheduled for this year.
The Columbia Association put out requests for bids on the project this summer, but when workers began preliminary clearing of the pond, they noticed seepage at the rear of its dam, said Denis Ellis, assistant director of open space management for the Columbia Association.
Working with the Maryland Environmental Protection Agency, Columbia Association engineers determined that the leak was minimal. Though the dam doesn?t have to be reconstructed, a relief drain that will interrupt the flow of water and siphon it out will have to be installed.
It is unknown how much additional money the relief drain will cost, Ellis said, but the plans for the dredging were revised and are in the final stages of approval with the Howard County government.
Regardless of when the plan is approved, the dredging cannot be done during fish spawning season, which begins in March and ends June 15.
Many Long Reach residents who use the pond for fishing are eager for it to be cleaned up, said Henry Dagenais, the Columbia Association board member for the village.
“The pond is way overdue to be dredged,” he said. “The upper third of it is reallyfilled in.”
