PEDRO  — Boaters should have a little less trouble launching their boats at Lake Vesuvius now.

Several hundred pounds of sedimentary material have been removed from the boat ramp area of the lake with the help of some funds from the Ohio Division of Natural Resources Division of Water Craft.

The sediment has built up naturally over the years. Heavy rains and flooding in July also contributed to the problem.

“It’s gradually been building up,” said Tim Slone, district ranger of the Ironton Ranger District of the Wayne National Forest. “It was so much material that it was prohibiting some boats from getting into the lake.”

The district first heard about the build-up when boaters began complaining that they were having trouble getting their boats launched, Slone said.

“It’s definitely going to be deeper,” Slone said. “There were places where it was inches deep when it should be several feet deep.”

The two-day project wrapped up Friday and cost between $8,000 to $10,000, Slone said.