It's back to the future, starting this year, for Lake George, known as the jewel of Warren County. A public-private partnership plans to cleanse the lake by restoring its wetlands.

Wetlands will be restored on the site of the former Gaslight Village, an amusement park that closed in 1989.The West Brook Conservation Initiative is a $15 million project to replant natural wetlands on 12 acres of the former Gaslight Village amusement park, which will be surrounded by a new environmental education park, The Times-Union reported. 

More than a century ago, this area of the lake's southern shore was filled in for timber mills and rail yards. Loss of the natural wetlands as a buffer and a filter means that runoff from Route 9 carries contaminants and sediment into the lake, hurting water quality and navigability.

Participants in the restoration project include area municipal and county governments, The Fund for Lake George, a non-profit group, and the New York State Environmental Facilities Corp., a government entity led by former Syracuse Mayor Matthew Driscoll that provides low-cost financing and technical assistance for environmental projects.