LOCAL : Lake to Be Restored at Hansen Dam
Congress has approved $780,000 to begin restoration of the long-lost lake at Hansen Dam in the Northeast Valley.
The funds, contained in the energy and water appropriations bill sent to President Bush, were earmarked for the lake under a federal trust fund. The fund was tapped last year for $200,000, which the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is using to develop a master plan for the Hansen Dam Flood Control Basin. The plan is expected to include lake revitalization and recreational facilities.
The trust fund money is accrued from fees paid by contractor Bill Blomgren, who signed a five-year contract with the corps in 1984 to dig out silt in flood control channels for sale to construction firms. He pays the government 15 cents to 25 cents for each ton removed.
The once-thriving recreational area has been neglected for years. A small lake that Blomgren excavated earlier this year was filled in with sand after the corps said that it was unfit for swimming and fishing and posed a community hazard.
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