DREDGING Lake Weeroona is not as simple as it seems.

Bendigo business Australian Pollution Engineering builds dredges and does de-sludging work all around Australia.

Manager Paul Schepisi said because the lake was in an urban area, there could be some issues with de-watering the sludge.

"It would be quite sloppy, about 90 per cent water," he said.

"You would need another storage area so you could de-water it and turn it into a cake.

‘You would need to dig another pond, about 25 metres by 25 metres and about three metres deep."

Mr Schepisi said because the lake was so low, there would be issues for the dredge itself.

"You also need to look at how much water would then be left to keep the dredge afloat," he said.

"Whether or not that is viable to the wildlife such as birds, turtles and fish is another concern.

"There would be some polymer that would go back in the lake.

"That is like a chemical that makes dirt drop out of it."

Mr Schepisi said with so many variables it was unclear whether the
$3 million price tag was warranted.

"Can we do it? Yes we can," he said.

"Is $3 million too dear, I don’t know."

"With a quick look at the job I would say it may be a bit dear, but we would need to do a survey, take samples and find out what is in the sludge, and find out from council where they would be prepared to
de-water it.

"It is a complex operation. It is not a straight-forward job," Mr Schepisi said.