Above: Pipes carry material from dredge. Right: utter head churns into mud, silt

SLEEPY EYE — The dredge’s mouth chews relentlessly at the mud and silt.

A large turbo charged engine pulls the water-mud mixture into a 10-inch pipe, then squeezes it into an &inch pipe where it travels nearly a mile to a mud settling pond.

It’s all part of a project to clean and deepen Sleepy Eye Lake.

“The dredge is like a vacuum cleaner,” says James Ganske ,president of the Sleepy Eye Lake Committee. “It’s a gigantic vacuum cleaner with a cutter head to knock the chunks and rocks loose.”

The water-mud mixture (it contains about 80 per cent water, 20 per cent mud and silt) is being pumped into a seven-acre section of Sportsman’s Park, a mile north of town. There mud settles out and the water returns to the lake.

Earl Erwin, chief dredge operator

Other lakes in this area are being considered for dredging. Clear Lake and Lake Hanska in Brown County; Lake Titloe in Sibley County.

But, at this point, only Sleepy Eye Lake is being dredged.

The project began in 1971 when the dredge was purchased for $63,000. Piping and other supplies added $25,000 to the price tag.

Officials expect the dredging project will be completed in 1976.

As the dredge has chewed away at the silt and mud bottom, carrying up to 130 cubic yards of material per hour, the lake has dropped five feet.

James Ganske project director

Already it’s easy to spot where dredging has been completed, especially when it’s next to areas that will be left shallow for plant life.The water remains calm in the shallow areas while the wave action is vigorous in dredged areas.

A total of $71,633 is expected to be allocated for next year’s dredging project.

Ganske expresses pleasure with the dredging program.

“People often say we’re not doing anything for the generations to come. But there are a lot of good projects like this in the country today.”

New Ulm Daily Journal

Sept. 21, 1975