Capaha Park lagoon to get upgrades for first time in decades

A Cape Girardeau landmark will undergo a yearlong face-lift starting in a few months.

The Cape Girardeau Parks Department is partnering with the Missouri Department of Conservation to drain and upgrade the Capaha Park lagoon. According to Cape Girardeau parks manager Brock Davis, the work could begin by late spring or early summer.

It will be the first time in several decades significant improvements have been made to the lagoon. Davis said bids for the work will be accepted later in the spring and the work will take about a year to complete.

The parks manager said several years of silt have accumulated on the floor of the lagoon and the lagoon’s banks have eroded significantly over the past 10 or 20 years.

“The purpose (of the project) will be to dredge the pond out,” Davis said. “Right now it’s only about 5-feet deep and it used to be a lot deeper than that.”

Where the sidewalk ends ... upgrades to the lagoon in Capaha Park in Cape Girardeau, seen Monday, are expected to begin later this year and will include draining and dredging of the lagoon, replacement and relocation of the sidewalk around the pond and installation of lighting along the sidewalk.Jay Wolz

The lagoon improvement project, which is budgeted at around $700,000, will be funded through a combination of Parks and Recreation Stormwater Tax funds and a grant from the Missouri Department of Conservation.

“It will probably take most of the summer to drain, and as soon as it’s dried up enough, they’ll come in and start excavating,” Davis said and explained the project will be similar to the lake renovation that recently took place in Cape County Park South, including the addition of lighting and a new sidewalk around the lagoon.

“The current sidewalk concrete is old and cracking, so we would like to move it away from the pond and make it more of a pleasurable walking experience,” Davis said.

According to Southeast Missourian files, the last time the lagoon was upgraded was nearly 30 years ago when concrete blocks were used to shore up its eroding banks. The lagoon was also dredged in the 1930s and 1950s in order to maintain its depth.

Although the general shape of the lagoon will be retained after the improvement project, Davis said it may not be possible to save one of the lagoon’s two islands.

Geese walk along the sidewalk and eroding bank of Capaha Park's lagoon Monday in Cape Girardeau.Jay Wolz

“One of the islands has been getting smaller,” he said. “The south one (the one closest to Broadway) is staring to erode.”

Water from the lagoon will be drained into the city’s stormwater system and the Missouri Department of Conservation will relocate fish, ducks and geese to other lakes and ponds for the duration of the project. Once the lagoon is refilled, Davis said it could potentially be restocked with trout.