Cost high to dredge Falls Lake

Scooping out the lake bottom as a hedge against future droughts isn't the obvious solution it might seem to be

(The News & Observer) - The sight of Falls Lake down more than 8 feet, exposing mile-wide expanses of its bottom, makes many people think now must be a good time to dredge the lake to expand Raleigh's overtaxed water supply.

Dozens have suggested it in recent weeks to The News & Observer and to the Army Corps of Engineers, which runs Falls Lake, north of Raleigh.

"It seems like a no-brainer," said one reader, Bill MacKrell, a SAS systems engineer from Durham. "And it seems like now would be the perfect time to do it."