Checking on the contractors the other day, I saw that they had pretty much cleared most of the shoreline…nice day for a hike around the lake.

Started on the SW side looking towards Morgan State University.

Headed up to the far end, closest to Hillen Road. The old surge shaft from Loch Raven is to the right. The dredge and barges could not get this far up.

Looking down from on top – the sludge. This is a by-product of what goes on in the filtration plant. Lots of sand at this point. The sand is used to filter the drinking water and when the filter becomes clogged, we backwash it. Unfortunately the pressure from backwashing pushes sand into the drain and ends up here.

More sand and sludge.

Since I was up here, I figured I would look down the hatch. The contractor had some concerns about getting too close to this structure. He said they could see a pipe that I told them to stay away from.

The pipe coming thru the wall at the top, is laid in the waste lake bed. It is about 10′ under the water surface. Although capped off, it would still cause problems if broken. I was supposed to climb out of this shaft a while ago…after an inspection of the old 1880 Loch Raven tunnel. (5-1/2 mile hike). Cancelled due to safety concerns.

Heading down the NE side. Watching the small barge and excavator get as close as he can.

The large excavator and barges. These barges are only about 5 feet tall. They displace only 2 feet of water. That just amazes me.

Soon, we will be testing pumps up on Deer Creek. This will be water from the Susquehanna River. It is very dirty water so we will just dump it instead of letting it go into the plant. See that tower in the background? That is the Susquehanna Surge shaft. When the DC pumps come on and the water flows 36 miles to this point, closing the valves to not let it in, well, the water has to go somewhere. It goes up that shaft and then out thru the drain you see to the left of the boat. 50-60mgd. The dredging should be done by then and their equipment removed. If not, they better tie that stuff down!

Continuing my hike down the shoreline.

Some spots were a little rough to navigate across.

Here is that cove I mentioned in an earlier post. Deer tracks everywhere.

The 4 million dollar problem – already rearing its head in the warm sun!