THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, February 7, 1997 TAG: 9702060163
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARY REID BARROW, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 67 lines
At quiet Lake Holly where gulls, ducks and herons are usually the only signs of activity, neon orange flags are flapping in the breeze and a dredge is noisily bringing up mud from the shallow lake's bottom.
A landmark since the Virginia Beach resort began in the 1880s, Lake Holly, which can be seen from Pacific Avenue, had silted in to the point that it was only 1 1/2 feet deep, said Nelson Lee, a civil engineer with the city's Public Works Beach Management Office. It was so shallow, it had become a storm water management problem.
``In essence the lake had almost completely filled,'' Lee said. ``It was doing some minor flooding in storms, and it wasn't allowing storm water to run into Lake Rudee.''
The city dredged Lake Holly in the early 1960s after it had become so shallow that fish were dying. The purpose then was to prevent another fish kill and to bring back the bass, perch and other fish that had been living there.
Lee is hoping the dredging will have the same effect upon the fish this time, too. ``I heard from residents,'' he said, ``that there used to be some pretty decent fishing years ago.''
Higgerson-Buchanan Inc., a Chesapeake firm, began the $1.4 million project last fall in the portion of the lake north of Norfolk Avenue and will complete that part this spring. The dredging will start in the southern half below Norfolk Avenue next fall after tourist season is over. It's due to be completed in May 1998.
When crews are finished, the entire lake should be 5 feet deep except for its sloping shoreline. The orange flags that are flying in the lake today indicate dredging boundaries.
A staging area where equipment is launched and dredged material is brought ashore was constructed at Lakewood Circle and Baltic Avenue. That area will be completely restored when the project is over, Lee said. The spoil is being used as fill for the city borrow pit off Potters Road.
Thus far, the only interesting discovery has been some pilings that were once part of a footbridge that went from 12th Street across the lake. The dredge is having to dig deep around the pilings in order to haul them out, Lee said.
The footbridge was built in the 1930s in conjunction with the development of the Lakewood neighborhood so residents could have a direct route to the beach. The bridge was abandoned because of safety reasons and was dismantled in the earlier 1960s dredging project.
Lake Holly is not new to public works projects. In 1890 it was the site of one of the first public works efforts in the brand new Virginia Beach resort. The resort owners built a flume at 13th Street that would carry water from the ocean into the lake. At the time it was believed that infusing Lake Holly with salt water would control mosquitoes that bred in its fresh water.
A natural lake, Lake Holly probably began before the beach was settled, as a pond in a low lying area behind some of the sand dunes that once ranged up and down the shoreline. The little body of water was split in two by Norfolk Avenue. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by DAVID B. HOLLINSWORTH
When dredging of Lake Holly is complete in May 1998, the entire lake
will be 5 feet deep.
File photo
A footbridge built across the lake in the '30s gave residents a
direct route to the beach.