THE original dredge used on Lake Wendouree since last September has been removed.However, Ballarat City councillor Judy Verlin said dredging works were still travelling at a rapid pace and assured the future of next year’s 100th Head of the Lake and an Australian Canoeing Grand Prix event in late January.Cr Verlin said the small dredge, operated by Austco Environmental Pty Ltd, was designed mainly for use in low-water levels, not full lakes. “It was selected at the time because it was the most effective dredge due to the low level of the lake,” Cr Verlin said.“But the lake has filled 12 months faster than anticipated and it’s now struggling with the water level.”She said the other two larger dredges, which began work on the lake in August and October, were now beating their dredging targets.“The work will allow the canoeing championships at the end of January and the Head of the Lake in March to go ahead.”The $1.2 million dredging program aims to deepen 1750 metres of the rowing course by five metres and bring it up to national standard.More than 100,000 cubic metres of sediment will be removed from the lake bottom.The dredges’ discharge pipes then deposit the sediment into two existing reed beds to make a semi-submerged, shallow wetland that will provide a habitat for native fauna.The project was expected to take eight months but was delayed by the excessive summer rainfall and lower-than-usual evaporation rates, because the dredges can’t operate on an overfull lake.The two new dredges have a cutting head specifically designed to work in a clay environment.