Renovation of the Lake Tams shoreline in Gypsy Hill Park is complete, and the lake is now open to the public.
The project was made possible thanks in part to a $200,000 matching grant from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality through its Stormwater Local Assistance Fund. The city qualified for and received the grant as a result of water quality improvements that will be achieved through the renovation.
Shoreline stabilization and other enhancements began in mid-May and were finalized last week. Previously, the last made improvement to the lake shoreline was a stone retaining wall constructed to stabilize severely eroded banks in 2002.
The city’s engineering department worked with Atkins Excavating, Inc. on the project. Improvements include:
- A continuation of the stone retaining wall and the installation of a vegetative bank to stabilize erosion.
- The construction of a sediment forebay to allow sediment to settle out of incoming runoff. The forebay will isolate sediment deposits, reducing future maintenance needs.
- An asphalt walking path providing accessibility to fishing for people with physical disabilities.
- The excavation of several thousand cubic yards of sediment from the lake bottom.
- The construction of an energy dissipater, which will slow down the force of incoming runoff, thereby reducing scour and erosion.
These enhancements will strengthen the water quality in Lake Tams and other local downstream waterways by reducing pollutant levels. The amount of pollutant reductions achieved through this project will count toward the City’s pollutant reductions mandated under federal law.
The lake is now open for fishing and has been restocked with rainbow trout.
The total cost of the project was approximately $589,000.
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