State Senator Patty Ritchie has recently secured $200,000 in special funding to help the City of Fulton and the Town of Granby in their work to dredge Lake Neatahwanta and ultimately make the body of water usable again.
For more than 25 years, the beaches surrounding Lake Neatahwanta have been closed to the public due to poor water quality resulting from excess sediment clogging the openings of natural springs.
In addition, excess sediment also carried with it phosphorus, which has led to an overgrowth of blue-green algae on the lake, reducing oxygen levels and making it hard for wildlife to survive.