Coronavirus postpones Capaha lagoon renovations

A plan to drain, dredge and upgrade the lagoon at Capaha Park this summer has been postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

“This is an MDC (Missouri Department of Conservation) grant project and all grant projects have been postponed for at least a year due to COVID-19,” Cape Girardeau parks manager Brock Davis said Tuesday.

In January, it was announced the lagoon would be drained and upgraded as part of a yearlong project. At that time, it was expected work would begin by late spring or early summer.

The lagoon renovations will still happen, Davis said, just not as soon as originally planned.

“The city is going to continue with the planning phase so that we are ready to ‘hit the ground running’ when MDC gives us the green light,” he said. “We hope to be able to resume the project in the spring of 2021.”

The project is budgeted at around $700,000 and will be funded through a combination of Parks and Recreations Stormwater Tax funds and the MDC grant.

In addition to dredging the lagoon of several decades worth of accumulated silt, the upgrade project will include replacement and relocation of the sidewalk around the pond and lighting along the walkway.

According to Southeast Missourian files, the last time the Capaha Park lagoon was upgraded was nearly 30 years ago when concrete blocks were used to shore up its eroding banks.

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