Project Background
Deep Creek Lake is an approximately 3,900-acre lake in Garrett County, Maryland. The lake serves as a public water supply and provides extensive recreational opportunities. Since the lake’s construction in 1925, no major sediment removal activities have occurred, and studies indicate that over one million cubic yards (cy) of sediment have accumulated, representing 0.6% of the lake’s volume. The majority of the sediment accumulation has occurred in the lake’s southern coves, and while the accumulation does not impact the function of the lake or power
systems, it does have negative impacts on recreational use and access.
Garrett County requested an investigation that would identify one or more coves that would benefit from sediment removal by dredging for access purposes to improve public use and recreational access through the Maryland Department of Natural Resources’ Waterway Improvement Fund (WIF) Grant. Utilizing WIF grant criteria including environmental benefit, cost, safety, boating access, etc., in 2017, Maryland Environmental Service and Anchor QEA developed the Deep Creek Lake Dredging Cove Evaluation Report, which analyzed 10 sediment impacted coves in the lake.
Sediment removal in Arrowhead Cove
Following the dredging evaluation, Arrowhead Cove was selected to advance into design. This was a result of multiple factors, but notablu for being ranked first for public boating access improvements, low impact to development and environmentally sensitive areas, and dredging engineering logistics such as constructability and implementation.
Arrowhead Cove is located in the main body of Deep Creek Lake, northwest of the Glendale Road Bridge. The cove has 23.5 acres of surface water, of which 9.9 acres are considered to be impacted by sediment accumulation.
Dewatered sediment removed from Arrowhead Cove and stored in the staging area ready to be loaded into truck for hauling to landfill.
The State of Maryland appropriated $2.47M for the final design, permitting, procurement and construction of the Deep Creek Lake Arrowhead Cove Dredging Project. Maryland Environmental Service managed the project on behalf of Garrett County, with assistance from Anchor QEA, the design engineer. Through a competitive sealed bid process, a contract was awarded to Byco Enterprises, Inc. to mechanically remove up to 11,000 cy of sediment from within approximately three acres of Arrowhead Cove.
The sediment removed from Arrowhead Cove was hauled to the Garrett Landfill where the material is stockpiled and will ultimately be used as landfill cover.
The dredging began in November 2023, and the in-water portion of the work was complete in January 2024, with the successful removal of approximately 11,000 cy of sediment. Upland restoration of the staging area will begin in the spring of 2024. There will be in-water planting of native submerged aquatic vegetation in the cove during the early summer. A detailed report documenting the pros and cons of Deep Creek Lake cove dredging will follow the completion of the project.
