Visitors walking through Como Lake Park in Lancaster have a good chance of bumping into Nancy Volker with her 12-year-old dog.

Volker's lived there most of her life, so she's seen the changes to the Como Lake after years of sediment and debris building up in the middle of it.

"It used to be completely filled with water," she said. "Now, it's a lovely field of wild flowers and brambles and a few ducks sprinkled in."

While the ducks don't seem to mind, many people who use the park do.

"I don’t go to Tops or Wegmans with my wife without people saying, 'Hey! When are you getting that done?’ ‘What’s going on?'" said Erie County Legislator John Bruso (D-District 8).

Bruso represents the area around the man-made lake. He's pushed for something to be done to restore it. Last spring, Erie County crews drained the lake and began fixing the gates on the dam that help control flooding along Cayuga Creek. Tests for contamination in the lake's soil came back okay. 

"We went through some pains this summer, but by this time next year this park is going to be pristine once again," Bruso said.

The county has received approval from the state Department of Environmental Conservation to continue the project, while a permit from the Army Corps of Engineers is needed before dredging the lake can begin.

At that point, crews will dig up the sediment and plants that have filled in the middle of the lake, increasing the water’s depth to about eight feet.

When that work will take place is still a question.

"The good news is we're committed to it. It's going to happen," said Charles Sickler, deputy commissioner for the Department of Public Works Commissioner. "It's a matter of whether or not it happens this fall, which the weather is starting to turn pretty quick as we can see today, or it happens in the spring or summer.”

Sickler says the total cost of the project should not exceed $400,000. While it might take longer than some hope, eventually it'll bring back the beauty of Como Lake.

"I think it's going to be lovely. I'm waiting,” Volker said. “I'm hoping it's going to bring more people back in here because it was pretty quiet the last couple of years.”