Category: FYI

During the sheet pile driving last week, we encountered a concrete foundation 4 feet under the lake bed that we were not expecting and caused the work to come to a stop. This morning we did more exploring and discovered a foundation wall as depicted in image below. This was likely installed prior to the dam, possibly as a temporary embankment of the wetland.

We will be removing the angled sections so we can install the steel pile wall as designed. This week, V3 will be prepping the entire stretch so the sheet pile driving can resume next week, hopefully unencumbered.

In order to remove the concrete, we need to lower the lake an additional 2′ for several days. We will keep this lowered level as short as possible.

The lowering of the lake has begun!  For your safety, please keep a safe distance from the yellow floats near the intake hoses pumping water out of the lake.  Do not swim near them and please keep your boat a safe distance away.

The lake is expected to be lowered 5-6 feet by the end of the week, so now is the time to remove your boats from the lake and begin your shoreline projects.

A bit of good news—the lowering of the lake is scheduled to start after July 4th. Hopefully that will allow you some time to enjoy the lake during upcoming hot spell.

The next phase of construction reroutes the water main. It currently runs under Highland Drive and through the dam. It will be rerouted down the ravine and back up via directional boring.

The contractor will also be working on putting the infrastructure in place to dewater the lake and erosion control measures to mitigate downstream effects.

McCloud Aquatics will be out on the lake next week, likely on Monday. They will take soil samples from our two bays to measure how much sediment we have in the bottom of the bays. They will be in a motorized boat and will just be collecting soil samples, not spraying or putting anything into the lake. It is fine to be in the water while they are out.

The Annual Meeting of the Sylvan Lake Improvement Association will be held on Sunday, September 10 at 1:00pm, with a rain date of Saturday, September 16 at 1:00pm.  The meeting will be held outside at Schwerman Park on the basketball court.  Please bring your own lawn chairs.  If the weather is not cooperating, further scheduling changes will be communicated on our slia.net website and email.

Sunday, Sept 10 @ 4pm

Beach check-in at 3:45pm

It’s back!!!! The BOAT REGATTA 2023 will be on September 10th at 4pm with a new teenage division and great prizes!

Ages 1-12ish: Use cardboard and tape to make the fastest boat on the lake. Decorate it to make it look awesome!

Ages 13ish-19: RECYCLED BOAT CHALLENGE Use cardboard, plastic bottles, twine, tape, and other recyclables to make the fastest boat!

GIFTCARDS for the winners!!!

Don’t forget your life preserver!

Happy New Year Sylvan Lakers!

We’re excited to announce that we can now accept payments via Zelle if that is more convenient for you than writing a check.  Zelle is available via many of your banking apps and all you need to do is use this email address to send money – treasurer@slia.net.  If it is not available through your bank you can use Zelle stand alone (‘how it works’ link below) or simply send a check as you have in the past.  If you send via Zelle, please indicate your property address in the notes section of your payment to simplify the accounting process. 

https://www.zellepay.com/how-it-works

The invoices will be sent by the end of this week and payment is due by March 1st.  As in the past, late fees will be assessed if payment is not received by March 1st and every 60 days thereafter.  

Best regards, 

Ed Meltzer, SLIA Treasurer 

Our lake treatment provider, Scientific Aquatics, periodically assesses our lake throughout the spring, summer, and fall seasons.  When they arrive, they inspect the conditions and make a decision whether or not a treatment application is necessary.  

We do not get advance notice of their visits or applications so we can’t send advance notice out via email.  However, the treatments used specifically target the algae and are completely safe for people and pets.  It’s a naturally occurring biological agent that specifically targets the algae’s ability to absorb nitrogen and phosphate.   These treatments keep algae under control and help our overall water quality.

We followed up with Fremont Township regarding federal funding for our dam project and the latest update is that the FY22 Appropriation vote may not happen until March.  We’ve been told the dam project will most likely get postponed until 2023, even if funds were to be approved this spring since there’s been a delay.  This might be best, considering the work being done on Gilmer, Midlothian, and Sylvan Dr South next year.

We’ll continue to provide updates as we get them, but as of right now it looks like we’ll have a lake this year.