9/21/2023 0 Comments Ct small dam dredge![]() ![]() Unlike UConn’s Swan Lake to the north, Mirror Lake isn’t a natural water body. It really needs and deserves our intervention now more than ever,” says Sean Vasington ’99 (CAHNR), University Landscape Architect and Director of Site Planning and Landscape Architecture for UConn’s University Planning, Design & Construction (UPDC). “Mirror Lake is an important historic, functional and cultural landmark beloved by our students, the entire campus community, and the town of Mansfield for nearly 100 years. ![]() Assessments conducted around seven years ago found Mirror Lake’s deepest areas were only about 3.5 feet, suggesting a loss of more than 6 feet of depth due to runoff since the last dredging. The existing dam was last replaced in 1946 and the lake was last dredged in 1970, despite significant growth and development in the watershed since then that has added to the stormwater runoff. That’s because stormwater from its South Campus watershed and non-UConn property flows toward the lower-lying lake, hurting the water quality and creating less water storage capacity as layers of muck coat the bottom. Mirror Lake is visibly shallow, murky, and excessively weedy during periods of the year and contains several feet of organic muck and sediment. The Board of Trustees voted Wednesday to allow the start of design for the project to get a sense of what would be involved as the concept plan is developed, the potential costs for various options if the University decides to proceed, and other issues. The lake’s 75-year-old dam would also need to be replaced and its spillway repaired, since dangerous conditions could occur if those flood-control measures fail during extreme rains. The work comes after a new drainage master plan and feasibility study determined an immediate need to create more capacity in the increasingly shallow lake to handle stormwater runoff. UConn is reviewing ways to improve Mirror Lake by addressing critical flood-prevention issues, long-overdue dredging, stormwater management, and the water quality and aesthetics of that highly visible campus attraction. ![]()
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