A group of homeowners had a terse exchange with the Wright City government last week over claims that park construction north of Westwoods Road allowed a large amount of dirt to infiltrate their neighborhood lake.

Around a dozen residents of the Spring Lakes subdivision, which is north of Westwoods and east of the park, addressed Wright City aldermen during the city’s public meeting Aug. 11. They said the largest of three lakes that their homes are built around had been clearly polluted with silt after a severe storm in late July.

Because residents use the lake for fishing and swimming, the neighborhood representatives said they have significant concerns about the quality of the water.

The group feared that land cleared for a future road in the park was the source of the erosion. The road would connect to their neighborhood at the northeast corner of the park, and at the moment is just a leveled dirt pathway. Residents claimed that without vegetation to filter runoff, silt was being allowed to wash into the lake.

“When we got all that rain ... it just devastated that lake,” stated homeowner Chad Presson.

Patricia Jones, a trustee of the Spring Lakes Homeowners Association, said any ongoing silt infiltration could be a serious problem, as it could cost $30,000 to remove that material from the lake.

City leaders told residents that they would identify and prevent any ongoing problem, but also asked residents to be understanding about the severity of the storm in July.

“We’re going to make sure this gets addressed, but let’s remember this was an exceptional amount of rain,” said Alderman Don Andrews, who commented that Warren County was hit with a record amount of rain in just five hours on July 26.

City Administrator Jim Schuchmann agreed, also noting that at least one erosion control barrier, a large pile of mulch, was completely overwhelmed.

“With 14 inches of rain, the water just overran the mulch and blew it out,” Schuchmann said.

Schuchmann added that he and workers with KCI Construction, the contractor for the park project, had already walked the creek that acts as the main drainage from the park. No evidence of major silt runoff was found there, Schuchmann said, but he agreed to accompany residents to also check whether a nearby spring had been affected.

Mayor Michelle Heiliger told the residents that regardless of how the silt infiltrated the lake, the city was committed to preventing any further issues.

“What’s important now is how we react. We know there’s a problem, so the city has to do our homework and figure out ... what do we need to do to help fix it,” Heiliger said.

On Monday this week, Alderman Ramiz Hakim said multiple city officials visited the site with a neighborhood representative and did not find any sign of ongoing erosion, concluding that the severe storm was the sole cause of silting in the lake. They also confirmed that erosion control measures were properly in place throughout the project.

“As another layer of precaution, more heavy rock and silt fencing has been installed on the premises to help reassure residents that we are doing everything we can to protect the lakes in their subdivision,” Hakim said.