By Rusty Bradshaw
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Between the holidays and waiting for the lake bottom to fully dry, very little activity will be seen in Viewpoint Lake for a couple of weeks.

But come January, there will be plenty going on in the man made lake devoid of water. Pacific Aquascape officials expect to begin demolition of the concrete bank and hauling out the sludge by the middle of January. That will depend, as most of the project has up to now, on the weather.

“We’re a little behind where we’d like to be,” said Corey Severson, Pacific Aquascape president, during an update meeting prior to Christmas weekend. “We’ve had some challenges getting the last of the water out.”

Crews discovered the deepest part of the lake was in the area of North Tan Tara and North Kaanapali points. That area still had about 1 million gallons of water last week. Severson said crews were punching holes in the liner under the pool of water trying to get to to seep into the ground. Once that water is gone, and since a bit of rain fell the weekend of Dec. 10-11, officials must wait for the sludge to try so it can be transported and disposed of.

“The landfill will not accept the sludge if it is wet,” Severson said.

Officials planned to have a bulldozer in the lake bottom last week to pile up the sludge to help it dry faster. But any additional rain before it is removed could add idle time to allow it to dry before it is hauled away, according to Bill Cook, Recreation Centers of Sun City general manager. He also said delays in this project were not unexpected.

“In all my years overseeing projects, none of them have been on schedule,” he said.

However, he acknowledged the Viewpoint Lake project is somewhat different than most.

Severson said work crews found some storm drains they were not aware of and some bolts and screws on the lake bottom. They also found a small remote controlled boat. They also discovered that some lots may have irrigation-related issues because they have seen moisture coming through the concrete bank. No dock issues were found so far, but few have had a close inspection yet.

Severson said the fish habitats that can be salvaged will be reused. The tires and pipes appear to be intact, but the cage types may not be.

The order of work changed a little as crews will start in the area of Lakeview Center because that will be the driest portion, then they will move to the Cameo Drive area and work around the lake clockwise, according to Severson.

“But we’ll have to finish work in the Cameo area first,” he added. “Demolition and grading will determine how fast the job goes.”

Officials expect to place the new liner beginning in May and plan to be complete with that portion by June 21. The liner was delivered to the site in pieces about 70 feet by 200 feet. They will be overlapped then “welded” together with heat.

The next step would be to refill the lake and that is projected to be complete by mid- or late-August, Severson explained.