MOSES LAKE - Signs of spring have started to appear - geese flying north, buttercups, the dredge being returned to Moses Lake.

The dredge went into the water Wednesday just off Stratford Road. It's part of the multi-year project to remove some of the silt from the lake, said General Manager Curt Carpenter, of the Moses Lake Irrigation and Rehabilitation District. The dredge can be launched earlier, but it can't begin work until March 1, he said.

Dredge operations are allowed in March and from July through November, he said. This will be the first year of a multi-year project to remove some of the silt from the lake. "It's all about rehabilitation and sustainability of the lake," he said.

Estimates vary, but there's a lot of dirt floating into the lake, so much that it could eventually fill the lake bed, Carpenter said. The current dredging project will clean the channel leading from Parker Horn, he said, but will leave the center island. Crews will build a sediment trap, which can be cleaned any time of year, he said.

The current project is the first; up to 11 others are planned around the lake.

The creeks and canals that feed the lake will be dredged first, then work will begin in the other areas where sediment is piling up, he said. "We'll hit the heads (of the creeks) and then we'll work our way around the lake," he said.

It's not a job for one summer. "We're looking long term and big picture," Carpenter said. He estimated it could take decades to complete.