WATERLOO - Fountains, a beach to lounge or build sandcastles on, and a more natural Laurel Creek that wanders and burbles are all part of an ambitious makeover of Silver Lake, the artificial lake that's a centrepiece of Waterloo Park.

The $9-million project will significantly alter the look of the area around the lake, and create a new lakeside focal point, with pathways, a series of fountains and even beaches where people can relax and play, but not swim.

The project will improve both the environmental features of the lake and the section of Laurel Creek that flows through the park, as well as update the landscaping all around the lake.

"The park is getting a re-envisioning to make it more of a destination for park users," said Jessica Kellerman, the senior project engineer.

The aging Lions Lagoon splash pad will be closed - a new splash pad is set to open in 2020 next to the skate park on Father David Bauer Drive. The lakeside spot now occupied by the lagoon will be completely re-landscaped as a plaza, with wheelchair-accessible paths, terraces and fountains.

There will be new lighting and benches, and new pedestrian bridges near the bandstand and the grist mill. The boardwalk and gazebos on the north side of the lake will be replaced with a promenade and beaches, the steep slopes down to the lake will be softened, and winding boardwalks will go in on the Perimeter Institute side of the lake.

Silver Lake is an artificial lake, created back in 1816 when Abraham Erb dammed Laurel Creek, which was then known as Beaver Creek, to create a mill pond. Damming slowed the flow of the water, so that sediment flowing in the creek simply collects in the lake.

The existing design requires the lake to be dredged every 20 years or so, an expensive proposition that closes off a good chunk of the park from the public for months at a time. The lake was last cleaned out in 1997.

The new design will build a forebay just before the creek flows into Silver Lake at the railway bridge, which captures most of the sediment now flowing into the lake.

Cleaning out the forebay, which is designed to trap sediment, will be much easier and less disruptive. "It's much better if we can do more frequent, smaller cleanouts that would take half a day every five years or so," Kellerman said.

Engineers estimate they will remove 30,000 cubic metres of sediment - equivalent to 12 Olympic-size pools - from the lake.

The dredging will make some sections of the lake more than four metres deep, a big improvement over the current situation, where sediment has piled up so high it has created "islands"covered in scrub and weeds that blocks open views across the lake.

"Right now it's so full of sediment it looks like the ducks are walking on water," she said.

The stretch of Laurel Creek that flows through the park will also undergo improvements. Instead of high banks lined with rock-filled gabion baskets, the river will have low, sloping banks, and more meanders, riffles and pools. All those changes will slow the flow of the water, reduce erosion and allow sediment in the creek to be deposited onto the shallow slopes rather than be swept downstream.

A more naturalized creek will improve fish habitats and have a greater variety and number of native plants along its banks.

Construction will begin in January, once the Wonders of Winter light display is over, and run through the summer of 2020.

There's been lots of public interest in the project, and almost all the commentary has been positive, Kellerman said. "It's going to be a major change. You're going to be able to see across the lake. I just think the views are going to be really cool."

For more information, go to engagewr.ca/waterloo. The city is holding a public information meeting about the work Sept. 26 from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Hauser Haus on the second floor of the Waterloo Rec Complex.

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