STEVENS POINT, WI (WSAU) — Residents who would like to sound off on a proposal to dredge a portion of the Plover River bed in Iverson Park have a few more weeks to make their voices heard.
Stevens Point Parks, Recreation, and Forestry director Tom Schrader says his department will take public comments through the end of October then deliver them to the city’s parks and recreation committee in November.
Schrader says they want to know how residents would feel about the changes that dredging would bring to the beach area, which would become significantly deeper in areas. “They were talking about dredging 8-12 feet in one area, and 4-6 feet in another area. That would be quite a bit of a change in the depth of the water from what it is currently.”
That means some areas could go from ankle-deep to 4-6 feet deep.
Sediment has been building up in that part of the river for well over three decades. Schrader says it’s not exactly clear when the area was last dredged but he thinks it may have been sometime in the 1970’s. “Nobody really seems to have any records of it because everybody who worked for the water department back in the 70’s is long retired. [But,] from my understanding they did it for several years and then stopped.”
Schrader says the proposal remains just that, a proposal, at this time. Not only does the Parks and Recreation Committee still needs to approve the plan, but he says the city Plan Commission may also need to take a look at it before the full council signs off. There’s also a permitting process that the DNR would need to approve. If all that happens, the dredging process would begin in October of 2019.
Those who still wish to submit public comments can do so here.
