SALISBURY — The Rowan County Board of Commissioners approved an interlocal agreement with Davidson County on Monday that will allow both to move forward with a feasibility study on potentially dredging High Rock Lake.

The agreement means that both counties will be picking up half of the tab on the study, with both agreeing to pay a maximum of $150,000. The Davidson County Board of Commissioners voted to approve their part of the agreement during its meeting on Jan. 8.

The agreement comes as a result of sediment build-up in the lake. Craig Powers, environmental management director for Rowan County, said that a lot of the issues stem from the fact that the lake acts as a forebay for downstream waters, which means that debris coming down the river will reach the lake and, as the water slows down, eventually settle there. Powers said that a study in 2001 showed that the lake received 729,000 yards of sediment deposition a year. He also said that concern had grown recently because several areas in the northern part of the lake are close to being blocked by sediment.

Powers said that the county received four bids from companies willing to perform the study. Geosyntec was chosen due to their experience with similar projects and background of working with federal and state governments to secure funding for past projects. The agreement with the firm states that the cost is not to exceed $299,921.

“Funding is going to be a key issue for anything moving forward once we get the study. We wanted a firm that could help us find grants and some other ways to navigate those funding issues,” said Powers.

Powers also said that the entire lake will not be studied, instead the firm will focus on the public parts and a few coves that are immediately endangered. The main two coves to be looked at in this study will be Swearing Creek in Davidson and Crane Creek in Rowan.

Chairman Greg Edds said that he knew of areas in High Rock Lake that have become 75 percent filled in recently. He also said that the counties have consulted with the Army Corps of Engineers and stakeholders in the area and have agreed that something needs to be done to find an answer to the issue.

“The question is, what do we want to do? Do we want to do nothing and then generations after us say ‘well why didn’t y’all do something?’ Or do we want to at least see what the answer is or the issues are, and then we can decide if something can be done. It may be that nothing can be done,” said Edds.

At the end of the discussion, the commissioners voted unanimously to approve the interlocal agreement and to enter into an agreement with Geosyntec. Edds said that once everything is approved and the firm starts the study, it should take six months for the commissioners to receive the results.