An Ongoing Photo Album of
Sodbusting at Champion Lake
Photographs on this page - © 1997 Brett Bump.


Steady stream still flowing over spillway.		   "The State will rebuild three walls around the overflow area and patch concrete on the north wall of the mill race," said Dennis Spady (Champion). He is one of almost 100 contributors who donated time, use of equipment, fuel, food, or monetary gifts for a local project at Champion Lake. Coordinators (Charlie Beard, Burton Beard, and Laura Lou Kelly -- all of Champion) called together area citizens and resources Saturday (09/27/97) morning in order to dredge the lake bed.        
               
               
History: June flooding necessitated an opening of the spillway gates. This lowered the brimming lake to a shallow stream. A better glimpse of the dam itself revealed eroded and cracked concrete. Repair funding is sought through the Game and Parks Commission; however, state-funding is not available for the actual dredging.    
Open spillway gates in the foreground.
Lake bed of cottonwood saplings in the background.		        
               
               
  So, the area citizens wanted to do their part in restoring the lake. The Champion Mill State Historical Park superintendent, Tim Hajek, granted permission, and folks began work. They are mowing cottonwood saplings that have grown on the lake bottom. Heavy equipment operators are digging to make the lake deeper. Dump trucks are being used to haul the dirt away.        
Jean Welch, park worker & tour guide, looks on as a back hoe starts digging.              
               
               
People from Champion and surrounding communities are all participating. City of Imperial and Chase County Road Department employees are helping. Some area businesses and private citizens are using their own equipment. Some are sending fuel money or actually donating gallons of fuel to keep the digging equipment and dump trucks going. According to Laura Lou Kelly of Champion, even some of the area's finest cooks fixed a feast of chicken and other delectables for the hungry volunteers.  
Ron Hegwood's back hoe adding a load of dirt to the pile.

A complete list of volunteers and contributors can be found in the 10/02/97 issue of the Imperial Republican.

        
               
Work will continue this weekend (10/04/97). More volunteers are welcome.        
               
 

POSTED: Free Dirt!

The dirt from this dredging project is high in nitrogen content. According to Tim Hajek, it is mostly sand and silt that hardens when it dries, but crumbles easily into a powder.

"Strange stuff," commented Mr. Hajek. "You would need to mix it with other soil, but I've been told that this dirt is so rich you could use it as fertilizer for up to three years."

Farmers have been hauling away the dirt for use on their fields. Mr. Hajek stated that this helps the farmers, but is also a big help for the project just to get the dirt out of the way. If you want a truck-load or two, the dirt is free!

  
       
               
               

       
               
Willie and Ethel -- two black swans that were brought in last Spring by Dean and Darlyne Milner (Imperial) -- do not seem to mind the rumbling equipment nearby. In fact, (above right photo) they are dutifully obeying the "KEEP OUT" sign posted in front of the spillway.        
               
             
    Click to see second album page.

Click to see third album page.

Click to see related nature article.