LUCERNE, Calif. — The work to dredge the Lucerne Harbor has been completed, with the boat launch once again reopened.

The long-awaited project began on Nov. 4, when the boat launching ramp and portions of the parking lot at Lucerne Harbor Park were closed, as Lake County News has reported.

The project was needed to remove the silt that had filled in the harbor, which hadn’t been dredged since it was constructed in 1965, according to Public Services Director Lars Ewing.

Marz Engineering of Ukiah, which put in the lowest of two bids at $211,700, was awarded the project by the Board of Supervisors in October.

The company completed the project on schedule, with the harbor once again fully reopened earlier this month.

The work window extended from Oct. 15 and Dec. 31, which officials said was meant to protect the Clear Lake hitch.

Excavation and removal of the spoils were completed by the end of the first week of December.

Next, water sampling and testing had to be completed ahead of the sediment barrier being removed and the boat ramp being reopened, said Deputy Public Services Director Kati Galvani.

Galvani said the county parks team repositioned the docks to prepare for reopening.

The harbor was dredged to approximately 1,316 feet above sea level, the original construction depth when the harbor was built around 1965, Galvani said.

She said that depth was based on the 1929 National Geodetic Vertical Datum, a system that was long used by engineers and surveyors to measure elevations above sea level in the United States.

“Dredge quantities are estimated to be approximately 3,000 cubic yards,” Galvani said.

Galvani said the dredging included cultural and archaeological monitoring by both Robinson Rancheria and the county’s consulting archaeologist.

As for whether or not any artifacts or remains were discovered, “Robinson’s official stance is to remain silent about what they did or did not find on any monitoring job. The County honors that,” Galvani wrote in an email to Lake County News.

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