Spring Harbor Dredge
Project Update
6/14/2022 Update:
Thank you to everyone who attended the June 14, 2022 Public Information Meeting. The recording is now available.
June 14, 2022 Public Information Meeting Recording
June 14, 2022 Public Information Meeting PowerPoint Presentation
Project Overview
Spring Harbor is a man-made harbor, located on the west side of the City of Madison along the shores of Lake Mendota. This harbor features an existing municipal public boat launch and fishing pier at City of Madison’s Spring Harbor Park. Over the years, increased sedimentation and public and private access points have minimized opportunities for recreational boating and fishing.One of the impacts to the recreational use of this boat launch is that Spring Harbor also serves as a major outfall for a 19.5’ x 6’ storm sewer box culvert that drains 2,400 acre urban area of the Spring Harbor watershed. The outfall is located just east of the boat launch and directly discharges to Spring Harbor (see Figure 1).

Project Limits
Entire length of Spring Harbor channel from Lake Mendota Drive to Lake Mendota. Width will be a minimum of 25’ on either side of the channel centerline. A wider width will be determined by funding.
Project Schedule
Spring 2022-Summer 2022
Final Design: additional public outreach, finalizing project plans, special provisions, details, requesting approval from involved City Departments, Common Council and Board of Public Works. Advertising the project publicly to solicit competitive bids. Award the project.
Construction: the contractor will dredge the harbor according to plans and specifications and haul the material to the designated de-watering site in water tight trucks.
De-watering and Disposal of Materials: the contractor will survey the de-watered dredge material for quantity and haul the material to the Dane County Landfill.
Public Involvement
There are a number of points of contact during this project where the public is encouraged to give feedback as part of public information meetings and public hearings. Dates, times and locations are indicated below:
Common Council
Summer 2022, more information will be posted when available.
Grant approval request to Common Council: May 18, 2021.
Board of Public Works
Summer 2022, more information will be posted when available.
Grant approval request to Board of Public Works: June 2, 2021.
Public Information Meetings
June 14, 2022 Public Information Meeting Recording
June 14, 2022 Public Information Meeting PowerPoint Presentation
Aug. 23, 2021 Public Information Meeting Recording
Aug. 23, 2021 Public Information Meeting PowerPoint Presentation
The City of Madison's Spring Harbor Watershed Study is nearing completion. The City hosted a third public information meeting for the Spring Harbor Watershed Study on June 30, 2021, virtually. During the meeting, information was shared about proposed engineered flood solutions throughout the Spring Harbor Watershed.During the June 30, 2021 Spring Harbor Watershed Study Public Information Meeting attendees asked several questions about the effects of the proposed solutions on erosion in City greenways and/or scouring at the harbor/outfall. City staff compiled a Frequently Asked Questions document to answer these questions: Spring Harbor Outfall Repair and Dredge FAQ. PDF pdf For more information about the related projects, you can view the Spring Harbor Outfall Repair project and the Spring Harbor Dredge project webpages.