Why Are There Plastic Bags Around Crane Pond?

What are those large plastic bags around Crane Pond? We asked Assistant Village Manager Ingrid Richards for an update on this capitol improvement project in Crane Berkley and here is what she shared.

It turns out the pond and surrounding watercourses needed to be de-silted and cleared of sediment and vegetation. The Crane/Berkley Homeowners Association (CBHA) asked the Village to help to restore the small pond in Crane Berkley and watercourse system between Tisdale Road and Taunton Road.

The Village agreed to partner with neighborhood association to manage the process by providing administrative and technical assistance and to fund the Village's proportionate share of the project. The Village, took the first step and re-established, by Village Board resolution dated January 29, 2015, the Crane Berkley Special Improvement District, providing the legal and financial vehicle for the Village and CBHA to undertake the project construction and for the CBHA District participants to reimburse the Village for their share of the project cost over a number of years in their annual Village tax bills.

The Village engaged the engineering firm of Professional Consulting Inc. (PCI), to perform the necessary surveying, engineering, permitting and preparing of construction plans and specifications. PCI developed a plan, with input and assistance from the Village and CBHA that removes the accumulated sediment, and debris and vegetation from the watercourse and ponds thereby ensuring the integrity of the overall drainage system.

Work began on August 8, 2016 and since then, the contractor, Aqua Cleaners, has removed a large amount of sediment from the Crane Berkley ponds. The organic sediment is removed from the pond by two pumps which transfer the sediments into the dewatering bags. These bags are specifically designed to retain the organic sediments while removing the water which is returned back to the pond.

This process typically takes between two and four months. Once the water has been completely removed from the bags, they are cut up and removed from the site. Removing the sediment from the ponds creates more storage capacity in the ponds thereby helping to manage storm water in the area more efficiently. It is estimated that the dredging process will be done by the beginning of December and the dewatering bags will be removed from the area in the Spring of 2017.

The total cost of the project is estimated at $626,908, some of which will be reimbursed from local property taxes paid by those homes in the special improvement district over a period of years.