City of Redwood Falls contributes $372,000 toward land for Lake Redwood dredging project

The proposed land use area for the property that will be used for the material dredged from the bottom of Lake Redwood, as presented to the City this week.

The long-time goal of dredging Lake Redwood, formally known as “The Lake Redwood Reclamation Project) took a big step this week when the city agreed to pay nearly $372,000 toward purchasing property necessary for the project to proceed.

Last year, the State of Minnesota agreed to provide $7.3 million in funding for the dredging project. The Redwood Cottonwood Rivers Control Area (RCRCA) is the local agency officially charged with supervising the project, and the City of Redwood Falls has previously committed to contribute up to $900,000 toward it.

Part of the funding is to go to a Confined Disposal Facility (CDF) to put the material dredged from the bottom of the lake. The final purchase price of the property is slightly more than $1 million, with the remaining balance after the city’s share to be paid from the State of Minnesota’s funds to the current owner, Red Del LLC.

Currently Lake Redwood is an average of 2.8 feet deep, from its original depth of 27 feet when the dam was constructed nearly 120 years ago.