Pictures of Forest Hill Lake Restoration XVII

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Update and photos courtesy of David Hathcock. Thanks David.

The big beasts were sleeping later this morning, as crews continue to work on the fine tune of the excavation.  Some of the remaining stone wall is being uncovered, and Reedy Creek is back within its historic walls.  The heron has returned to his (or her) habitat in the upper creek.  While it appears that the contractors will have finished their work within the next month or six weeks, we are now told that the rededication may be delayed well into next year because of an interdepartmental dispute over restoration/replacement of the lights around the lake.  Some of us are still planning a “Welcome Back”
celebration for the lake in January, so we’ll notify you when, so you can come down, have coffee or hot chocolate and admire what has been one of the most successful projects undertaken in the city in many years. This was not a disaster response like Battery Park.  This was a planned restoration, and it involved some careful planning from an engineering standpoint, plus neighborhood involvement.  The lake was even designed to serve as a stormwater retention basin for the entire Reedy Creek drainage, and will serve as a blueprint for how our lake system can serve as regional components of a stormwater management plan.

From a personal standpoint, I have been coming to the lake since I moved to Richmond in 1982.  I am seeing features I have never seen before.