The Lake Tams shoreline in Gypsy Hill Park is undergoing a renovation, 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 improvements are scheduled to begin in mid-May and continue into October. 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 is working with Atkins Excavating, Inc. on the project.
Planned 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 pathway 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 improvements will improve the water quality in Lake Tams and 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.
Total estimated cost of the project is $589.000.
Fishing Suspended
The lake has been drained in preparation for the renovation. Consequently, the lake will not be stocked with fish this summer, and fishing will be suspended until the project is completed. Staunton Parks and Recreation has cancelled its annual May fishing derby as well.
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