Barge and sandbags to be used to keep water level up in Lake DePue

There’s plenty of water in Lake DePue now but action is being taken to make sure water levels remain high enough for the pro-national boat races later this month.

To do this a 100-foot long barge is being brought Friday to the channel separating the lake from the Illinois River.  The barge will be sunk and with the help of sandbags, it should maintain the water levels.

Village President Eric Bryant says they received permission to build the dam Wednesday. He says that as of  Thursday morning water levels were 10 inches above the require five-foot needed for racing.

Last summer a dam was built and water was pumped into the lake to make the lake level high enough to allow for safe racing.

Bryant would like to see a permanent dam so they can control the level of the lake water not only for the races but also for duck hunting.

The boat races are July 26 through the 28^th.