Findorff Construction spreads litter on L. Mendota

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On Sunday March 10, Findorff was again unprepared for rain and thaw.  The rain amounted to .93 inches, augmented by melting snow.

The area furthest from the lake had been recently excavated, but no erosion controls were visible along the fence.

Out on the ice of Lake Mendota, Findorff had been dumping snow excavated from the construction site.  The dumping of snow was intentional--it was in large piles dropped by a power shovel.

Construction ready to begin at Edgewater site

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This is a very steep site, with a high, caving bank over the lake.  Let's hope Engineering is up the the challenge that erosion control will present!  Trees are being cut.

Erosion control plans often "limit" sediment loss to no more than 7.5 tons/acre. For this 2-acre site, that would "allow" 15 tons of sediment to the lake, LEGALLY.

Construction at Memorial Union litters the lake

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Construction along the shore of Lake Mendota--at the Memorial Union--have not been properly inspected for erosion control.

Boldt Construction & Terra Engineering are the contractors

The University of Wisconsin is in violation of its erosion control permit for construction at the Memorial Union and Alumni Park on the waterfront.  

The biggest problem is the required silt curtain, floating in the lake.  Its problems are so obvious--that I wonder if anyone has been inspecting the erosion controls.

The Power of a Pond

Henry David Thoreau wrote Walden during his two-year stay in a tiny shack on the shores of the pond. It became a best-seller when his literary friends promoted it after his untimely death. As Thoreau gained a worldwide following for his environmental philosophy, the pond itself became a celebrity.

Now people are loving the pond to death. It receives 700,000 visitors a year, who come to worship Thoreau’s legacy, or just to swim in one of the few freshwater ponds near Boston.