ROCKVILLE, MD—Just as the official start of hurricane season began on Sunday the Montgomery County Department of Parks announced the completion of construction on the Lake Needwood Dam in Rock Creek Regional Park.
“We are happy to welcome trail users back to the park this summer now that construction on the dam is complete,” said Department of Parks Rock Creek Regional Park Manager Jim Humerick.
A portion of the park’s Westside Trail has been closed since last March as the Department of Parks began the first phase of the remedial measures program initiated for the dam following the significant storms of June 2006, which included having a specialty contractor install a grout curtain below the Needwood Dam to reduce seepage through the dam’s rock foundation. Additional repairs included upgrades to the outlet control tower and the dam monitoring system. The last major phase of the project involved installation of a sand and gravel blanket drain on the downstream face of the dam to collect and control any residual seepage through the bedrock foundation.
Now all phases are complete and as a result public access to Rock Creek Regional Park and its popular Lake Needwood is no longer restricted. There will be some minor clean-up work and parking lot repairs in the coming weeks, but that work will be scheduled to minimize any disruptions for park users.
“During recent rain events the dam has responded well,” added Humerick. “We routinely monitor levels at both lakes Needwood and Frank using a newly installed remote monitoring system.”
In coming years, park visitors can expect expanded boating and fishing areas within Lake Needwood as the County Council recently approved $3.8 million for a much-needed project to dredge the lake. In December, the Montgomery County Planning Board approved preliminary engineering designs for the dredging project, which includes structural improvements to the lake’s existing forebay and upper portion of the main lake. Lake Needwood was regularly dredged until about 1990 when funding constraints discontinued regular dredging. Since that time, continued siltation has impacted the function of the forebay and limited boating and fishing within the main body of the lake. The timing of the dredging project will be coordinated with the completion of ICC construction in the area and is expected to occur over the winter of 2010, 2011.
For more on recreational opportunities at Rock Creek Regional Park including boat rentals at Lake Needwood, visit www.MontgomeryParks.org.
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Contact:
Kelli Holsendolph
Media Relations Manager
Montgomery County Department of Parks
301-650-2866