Hague Brook Delta

HAGUE BROOK SEDIMENT BASIN. Upstream from the delta, the LGA funded the construction of the Hague Brook Sediment Basin, to prevent continuing growth of the delta. This project was completed in 2006.

Hague Brook Sediment Basin II. Located at the mouth of the brook, this basin was completed in 2007 with partial funding from the LGA.

LOCATION: Hague Brook is located in the town of Hague in Warren County just north of the Hague town beach and boat launch.

ACTION:The LGA and its partners have laid the groundwork to begin a delta removal project at Hague Brook.

In 2008, the LGA contracted with the Warren County Soil Water Conservation District (WCSWCD) to conduct a bathymetric survey for the Hague Brook delta. Following the bathymetric survey, the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum was hired to produce an archaeological study of the delta and surrounding area. With the two surveys in place, the LGA went back to WCSWCD to complete the actual delta removal plans and submit permit applications for removal of the Hague Brook Delta.

Permit applications were submitted to the Adirondack Park Agency (APA), the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The LGA and its partners have already completed considerable upland work, including two sediment basins, one located upstream (Hague Brook Summary Report - pdf) and one located at the mouth of the brook (Hague Brook Lower Summary Report - pdf). (See pictures in the column at left.)

In July of 2009, WCSWCD brought together municipal officials, regulatory agencies, the LGA, and other interested parties to discuss permitting, transportation logistics, excavation methods, dewatering plans, construction plans, materials disposal, and public outreach for the project. A consensus was formed regarding the lateral extent and ultimate depth of the dredging project. (See the site plan.) Excavation will be conducted to a four-foot water depth (summer level), determined to be sufficient for boating, swimming and fisheries. This dredging project will ultimately cover approximately 433,000 square feet of lake bottom (10 acres) and equates to the removal of just over 27,000 cubic yards of sediment from Lake George.

HISTORY: Over the past decades, the mouth of Hague Brook has developed a significant delta, containing many thousands of cubic yards of sand, silt, gravel, and organic material. The source of this material is streambank erosion within Hague Brook and its tributaries, highway sanding practices in the winter time, and upland construction activity.

Both natural and man-made activities can account for the growth of the delta. At this point, we do not know the actual amount of growth caused by man-made activity. However, historical aerial photography shows that the Hague Brook delta was only a fraction of its current size in 1948, with considerable growth each decade following. Since the 1950s, the rate of the growth of the Hague Brook delta has been greatly accelerated due to anthropogenic activities. The LGA and its partners have completed numerous projects throughout the watershed to address some of these issues. The delta has grown to the point where it influences the fisheries, navigation and recreation of the area, and its removal will be an improvement to the Lake.

PROJECT PARTNERS: Warren County Soil and Water Conservation District, Town of Hague

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT of PROJECT SUPPORT: Helen V. Froehlich Foundation, NYS Department of State with funds provided under Title 11 of the Environmental Protection Fund and the town of Hague.