The Shell Rock River Watershed District may start the process of dredging Albert Lea Lake in the next five years.

Watershed District Director of Field Operations Andy Henschel said the district’s board of managers could request state funding in connection with Albert Lea Lake dredging before Fountain Lake dredging is finished, because acquiring state funding can be a long process.

Henschel said if all goes well, the dredging of Fountain Lake could be completed by 2019 or 2020.

The beginning of the process will include putting together an Albert Lea Lake committee to start the plan and then starting the design process, which Henschel said will only happen after the dredging of Fountain Lake is completed.

Henschel said it is critical that the Watershed District is successful in its Fountain Lake project for its goal to dredge Albert Lea Lake.

Henschel said dredging Albert Lea Lake will be more expensive than the $15 million Fountain Lake project because of its size — Albert Lea Lake is approximately five times the size of Fountain Lake. He didn’t have an estimate for the cost of dredging Albert Lea Lake.

The project is included in the Watershed District’s 10-year plan approved earlier this month.

Henschel said the dredging projects provide the district a high value for money invested.

“It’s still the biggest benefit for us,” he said.

He said though the condition of Albert Lea Lake is improving, the district’s goal is to make its condition better by pulling phosphorous out of the sediment and reducing internal loading, the nutrient load in sediment that sits at the bottom of the lake and recycles itself.

The Watershed District hopes to have land purchased for a confined disposal facility for the Fountain Lake dredging within the next month and to have bids for the construction of the disposal facility put out sometime in May and June.

A confined disposal facility is a dewatering site for dredging. When dredging takes place, there will be a mixture of water and sediment pumped to the site, and sediment will settle and water will be siphoned off.

Once bids are put out, the district plans on working with its engineering firm, Natural Resources Technology, to finish dredging design, and work with state agencies to finalize permits.