The Challenge
Each year, Lake Panorama faced 200,000 to 300,000 cubic yards of silt to dredge.
Our Solution
The Lake Panorama Rural Improvement Zone, located in Panora, Iowa, about 45 minutes west of Des Moines, maintains the largest private lake in Iowa. With 1,400 acres of lake surface, more than 30 miles of shoreline, 1,000 homes and approximately 200,000 to 300,000 cubic yards of silt to dredge each year, Lake Panorama was in need of upgraded equipment to meet the specific dredging needs of the area.
Since 1999, the Lake Panorama Rural Improvement Zone and Lake Panorama Association have partnered to use a DSC Barracuda Class dredge to maintain the depth and health of the lake. With the help of DSC, the organizations upgraded their dredging equipment to a new DSC Barracuda Class dredge and a 16-inch floating booster unit.
“We’re in a rural part of the state, and this lake does a lot for the local economy during the warmer months, so it’s important that we keep it viable,” comments John Rutledge, General Manager of the Lake Panorama Association. “We chose features for the dredge and booster to accommodate the specific sediment removal needs of our river-fed lake. Additionally, hospital-grade mufflers were specified to ensure the dredge was not a nuisance to the residents of our community.”
For the first 15 years of dredging, Lake Panorama did not require a booster unit because the pipeline transferred spoil to nearby silt retention areas. Over the years, as the association built silt basins farther away from the dredge, the changing pump curve created the need for a booster. The dredge is kept upstream in a restricted area during the peak lake season, in order to keep the dredge pipe from becoming a hazard in the recreational boating areas. Upstream, the water access is undeveloped and is surrounded by marginally effective farmland that Lake Panorama either acquires or leases to deposit the silt.
After consulting with DSC, the Lake Panorama Rural Improvement Zone received dredging equipment that was customized to include a closed circuit television system, magnetic flow meter system, pump speed automation, Metso Minerals Thomas, Gatling Gun™ rotating suction screen, hospital-grade silencers, wireless radio telemetry system, and a solar-powered wireless radio telemetry repeater station.
“We ordered our dredge in the fall of 2012, but didn’t need it delivered until the spring of 2014. DSC was very accommodating, and made sure that we had it ready for the 2014 season and that we didn’t need to make changes mid-season,” said Rutledge. A crew from DSC traveled to Lake Panorama with the delivery of the dredge to assemble it and be available for training on the new features. Lake Panorama also has direct access to DSC technical assistance through a wireless connection from the dredge, which allows DSC to see an issue as it is happening and offer remote troubleshooting guidance.
