Removing Aquatic Weeds:  DAY 2 · · PAGE 5.

April 21, 2020: The second day continues with a Caterpillar scoop loader on tracks to work the area near the shore as the lake water level is too low for the work boats to remove all the reeds and small trees close to the sea wall.  This scoop loader was working up at the boat ramp to unload the barge, transferring the reeds to a truck taking all the waste to a landfill.

The shovel clears all the plants from the bottom of the lake in this area.  This rig has a box blade on the front side of the track drive to act as a mini-bull dozer pushing all the little trees and reeds toward the water for the work boats, where the waste can be stacked out of the way and eventually loaded on the barge for transport to the boat landing area.

The boat drivers have put them away at the end of the day.

The barge has a steel pipe sleeve on several corners that can accept pipes long enough to stick into the sandy bottom of the lake, keeping the barge from drifting during loading.

The work boat operating on the north side of the dock has cleared  the area up to the point where the boat would run aground.  The reeds that have been removed are stacked near the dock for later loading on the barge for transport.  That black fabric on the right side of the photo is the sun shade over the operator's seat on the work boat.

This is not the barge next to the dock platform.  It is a large pile of debris that is resting on the lake floor.

Enough of the reeds have been removed to see the area that has been cleared from this viewpoint on the board walk.

Removing Aquatic Weeds:  DAY 3

April 22, 2020: This first photo of the day taken just after 9 AM shows the crew at work.  The Caterpillar track drive is below the water level.  The operator is moving cuttings to the water where the work boat will not run aground.  Notice how the full barge is still there.  With the Cat working here, there is no way to unload the barge at the boat landing.

The work boats continue to stack the reeds and roots alongside the dock.  The pile is tall enough that it is sitting on the bottom of the lake here where the water is about three feet deep.

More debris from cutting and scraping the bottom is being moved by the Cat to a point where the work boats can continue to make stacks.

This photo shows how the Caterpillar has moved toward the shore exposing his treads above the water level.  This view is from the end of the dock looking back toward the shoreline.

The cuttings pile gets bigger and bigger.

Now you can see this pile is at the north side of the dock at the west end.

The barge will not be moved until the Caterpillar goes back to the boat landing.