A certain amount of seepage is normal, according to Lockhart, but the amount of water and a lack of erosion controls were a concern. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources Department of Engineering rated the dam as “deficient.”
Lockhart said the dam was not at risk of failure and called the project a proactive step. The state’s agreement with Columbus-based contractor DLZ Ohio calls for work to be completed by December 2015.
“If you are going to have a dam like this you want it to be safe, you want it to be functional and operational,” he said.
In the spillway at the south end of Acton Lake, work crews have drilled into bedrock in preparation for pouring new concrete side walls 60 feet high.
Much of the massive channel is being rebuilt. It is about 50 yards long and 25 yards wide, allowing water to flow from the lake above to Four Mile Creek. At the base of the dam, a new network of pipes will carry water away from the structure, preventing erosion.
More work needed
While the original design of the dam became outdated, the sloped structure has only reached middle age compared to some of the region’s other dams. Lake Loramie in Shelby County was built in 1844 to supply water to the Miami-Erie Canal.
Rodney Tornes, Deputy Chief of the ODNR office of Soil and Water Resources, said Loramie also is in line for major repair work. It is among 117 dams owned or regulated by the state. Tornes said his agency inspects each dam once every five years, looking for leaks, slides, deterioration and sink holes.
“When we see an emergency, we begin work on that right away,” said Tornes.
The state currently is working to address cases of deferred maintenance on publicly owned dams, with Hueston Woods an example of that effort.
Figures obtained from ODNR show that the state spent $28 million on dam repair and renovation from 2010 to 2014. A dozen dams statewide, including Hueston Woods and Lake Loramie, are among those that are funded for renovation through capitol funds approved by the Ohio Legislature.
Dams nationwide are rated on a scale that relates to possible threats they pose to the public. Hueston Woods is considered a high-hazard dam because of what could happen if the structure were to fail entirely.
“We certainly look at our high hazard or bigger dams, obviously. Where there is potential for loss of life, that’s where the department is focusing their money for repairs,” Tornes said.
Failure of a large dam is extremely rare. The most recent example occurred on July 15, 1982, when the dam at Lawn Lake in Colorado gave way, sending floodwaters through Rocky Mountain National Park and into the town of Estes Park. Three people were killed and damage was estimated at $31 million.
‘It was scary’
In the case of Hueston Woods, even non-engineers were concerned about its condition. Jill Russell, a biologist from Cincinnati, is a frequent visitor who studies birds. Looking at the cracked spillway, Russell said, “It made me nervous. It was scary. We have a lot of community members coming out to look at the birds. I was not comfortable having people come out here.”
Early in process, the state faced a tough decision that comes with many dam projects. It had to decide whether the water level would be lowered in order to proceed at a cheaper, faster pace, or to keep the lake at normal levels by using temporary dams.
Lockhart said it was a no-brainer, given the popularity of the park, which has an estimated 2.5 million visitors a year.
“We could have drained the lake and we could be done a year sooner, but we knew our customers,” he said. “We knew it would take 10 years to restore the fish habitat and it was not an option.
“Our concessionaire partners who run the lodge and some of the other facilities, that would be damaging to their business because there’s no water. We took that off the table very early.”
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