Within a month city officials hope to be filling Huddleston Pond back up.

The pond’s level has been dramatically reduced while crews built a new dam and pipe for the emergency spillway. Significant problems with the dam were found in March 2006, and the lake was drained almost completely in September 2006 when more extensive problems were found.

The dam and spillway are completed now, and all that’s left is to finish the new dock and add the path connections, City Engineer David Borkowski told the City Council last week.

“It shouldn’t be less than a month before we’re filling the thing back up,” Borkowski said.

The pond’s fish have not been killed, in large part due to the placement of deciduous trees in the water to help create habitat for them, Borkowski said.

The project was approved in September by the City Council for the low bid of $320,000. The funds are coming from the city’s stormwater utility program.

The lake’s size will increase after all the work is completed, and the city plans to replace the existing exercise equipment with new models, including some designed for older adults. It will cost about $40,000 to upgrade the exercise equipment and to add new playground equipment according to city estimates.

Part of the lengthy delay was due to the state and federal permits taking longer to acquire than originally estimated, city officials have said.

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