DOVER, Del.- After 15 years of metal contamination, the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control is now taking steps to clean up Mirror Lake in Dover.
During low-tide a large sandbar appears and the water has become tainted with mercury, DNREC said it will cost $750,000 to correct the problems.
The cost worries Dover resident Jody McGuckin.
"It might have been cheaper when they first found out," he said. "But what's really worrisome is all the geese and ducks that have been sitting in there feeding. I'm a hunter, who knows, I might have shot one of those one day."
Dean Holden with the Silver Lake Commission said the funding for the project is coming from state and federal funds. He says once the water is clean that hopefully the fish advisory will be lifted.
"That's done through adding activated carbon which is a lot like the carbon that's in a brita filter," Holden said. "And it helps sequester or basically it absorbs the contaminants that are in the sub-soil."
Officials hope the beautification process will bring more people to Mirror Lake and the park. Tami Mock works nearby and she says she's never seen anyone at the park.
"If it had areas where you could actually picnic around it, people might use it," Mock said. "But I haven't really noticed if it even has an areas where somebody could try and eat lunch there or anything."
The plans for the improvement at Mirror Lake depend on the Dover City Council. The council must approve DNREC's plans before things can move forward.
