![]() ![]() "There are cutterheads," explained Fenwick, "that will take a stump that's been underwater for 43 years." (Fenwick says dredging the Rivanna would require a larger device such as the Mud Cat brand of barge-mounted hydraulic dredges.) "If I were to walk out five feet, I'd probably get back, but I'd lose my shoes."įenwick's larger purpose was demonstrating the simplicity of dredging the Rivanna Reservoir, a 43-year-old water body that may eventually lose 80 percent of its capacity without a dredging operation. "This is as close to quicksand as Virginia has," said Fenwick. "If you have auxillary pumps, you can pump a long way."įenwick said he wanted to show lake-losing neighborhoods how to prevent a safety hazard as mucky bio-materials create a potentially dangerous shoreline entrapment situation. "That, my friends, is dredging," Fenwick said triumphantly. As mud settled at the base of a set of straw bales and plastic, cleaner water–- relatively, at least–- flowed back toward Loch Leigh. Instantly, opaque water glugged out of the end of a three-inch pipe. Just after 10:15am Friday, Fenwick pulled the starter cord, and the dual-diaphragm Koshin mud pump–- $65/day from Central Virginia Rental–- hummed to life. "This is what should have been done," said engineer-builder Fenwick, as he readied a four-horsepower, motorized pump, "and what will be done in the future."įenwick expressed hope that West Leigh residents might consider hydraulic dredging to restore their formerly emerald green lake, whose western end has lost at least an acre of surface area and become a distinctly chocolate-brown puddle. "This is engineering, and this is a basic application of mechanical equipment," he said.Ī former member of the Army Corps of Engineers, the folks who oversee many of the world's biggest dredging operations, Fenwick has turned his sights to what might be the world's smallest dredging operation. ![]() "This is not rocket science," said Fenwick September 4, on the shore of Loch Leigh, a private lake in the West Leigh subdivision. ![]() Only it wasn't a County citizen it was Charlottesville resident and City Council candidate Bob Fenwick. "Somebody's gonna make a good living out of doing a company and offering this service," said Fenwick Friday.Īfter years of talk, someone has finally taken action on dredging a water body in Albemarle County. ![]()
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