Lost Lake Found—Restoration of a Carolina Bay Wetland

Lost Lake is a Carolina bay wetland located on Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site (SRS) near Aiken, South Carolina. Before closing access to SRS to the public, Lost Lake had been drained and planted as part of an agricultural field. In the 1950s, Lost Lake was allowed to refill and to return to its function as a wetland, but it was severely impacted by SRS operations. In 1991, Lost Lake was drained again and restored by removing and replacing contaminated sediments and through soil treatments. Studies of the amphibian populations before and after the restoration effort indicate that recovery is extensive. In addition to serving as an experiment in restoration techniques, this wetland has served as a teaching laboratory for graduate and undergraduate students in local colleges and universities. A shimmer of light reflecting among stands of pines, dog fennel, and blackberry canes is the first glimpse one gets of Lost Lake. That glimpse comes unexpectedly considering the adjacent and surrounding area. Travelling past the closed M-Area seepage basin, numerous monitoring well heads, air strippers, injection wells, and other industrial paraphernalia and clutter associated with cleaning up a RCRA site, the last thing one would expect rounding a bend in the gravel service road would be to come upon a Carolina bay. Even more interesting is that this wetland is perched in the dry