Rolling Wheels To Lake Wichita Finds Big Caterpillar Dredging Lake Sludge

I took the first photo you see here a couple days ago at a point in time when there were a few clouds in the otherwise clear blue sky.

I parked my bike and took this photo because it seemed to me someone was making some sort of subtle political statement, what with someone moving a "SUPPORT LAKE WICHITA" banner and a "VOTE YES" sign at a location quite visible atop the Lake Wichita Dam, at the point where the Circle Trail reaches the top of the dam.

VOTE YES turned into a NO VOTE on May 5, failing to pass the two bond proposals which would have finished circling the Circle Trail and would have finally funded the revitalizing of Lake Wichita.

I have not heard if there will be another attempt to get Wichita Falls voters to vote YES, or not. It would seem a better job could be done of convincing voters it is in their interest, and for the betterment of their town, to vote to support returning Lake Wichita to its historical former glory, that and finally completing the Circle Trail.

So, this morning I opted to do my semi-regular bike ride to Lake Wichita via that aforementioned Circle Trail. Upon arrival on top of the dam I saw the sign you see above is still there.

Looking up, from the banner sign, across the lake, at Mount Wichita, I saw that a piece of heavy equipment which I have been seeing stationary for over a week, was, on this day, in full action mode.

I figured by the time I got to Mount Wichita I would be getting an up close look at what this heavy equipment operation is doing.

And now we are at that location, sort of in the shadow of Mount Wichita. A fellow biker bikes towards the Caterpillar dredger dredging mud sludge from Lake Wichita.

And then I rolled on for a closer look. Is this a stage of the Lake Wichita Revitalization underway? If not, what is going on here? There were several City of Wichita Falls dump trucks parked a short distance away, engines running, headlights on, manned with drivers, waiting, I assume, to haul away that which is being dredged.

I thought the plan for revitalizing Lake Wichita called for the lake to be drained and then the sludge dredged, in order to render, eventually, a deeper lake.

Has enough money been raised by the car washes and other somewhat pitiful Lake Wichita Revitalization fund raising efforts to pay for some dredging?

I first learned of the plan to revitalize Lake Wichita soon upon arrival in this town in spring of 2016. Learning the details of this plan it seemed like a good idea. And the informational website devoted to this project, when I first saw it in 2016, indicated the project would be underway by 2018.

Somehow I do not think this Caterpillar dredging on the shore of Lake Wichita indicates the lake's revitalization is underway. But, if not, why is lake sludge being dredged?