There are two methods for removing sediments from a lake or pond; draining the lake and conducting dry dredging, or wet dredging which removes the sediments with hydraulic dredging equipment. Wet dredging is more expensive and may require extensive de-watering plus holding ponds for the dredged material. Dredging can be viewed as a benefit to the water body for long-term management, however, in most cases it does not effectively manage algae and weed growth.

Of all the in-lake management techniques available, dredging is the most difficult to permit, the most detrimental to non-target organisms and the most costly.