BUCKEYE LAKE

Buckeye Lake dredging not part of construction project

Kent Mallett
Reporter
  • A new dam will be built because the 190-year-old dam is in immediate danger of failing, ODNR said.
  • A request for qualifications from engineering firms will be posted on the ODNR website next week.

BUCKEYE LAKE – The dredging equipment recently spotted at Buckeye Lake will be put to work in about a week but is unrelated to the dam construction project.

This is a view along Buckeye Lake’s north shore, where the homes face North Bank Road in Millersport. Sidewalks have been built atop the earthen dam and many foundations for homes, including the remains of one since demolished, are dug into the dam, potentially compromising its structure.

John Wisse, spokesman for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, said the dredging operation, which begins about April 6, is the annual work the ODNR performs to make the lake more navigable.

The start of construction on a new dam remains a ways off, Wisse said. The state determined the five-year, $150 million project was needed because the 190-year-old dam is in immediate danger of failing.

A request for qualifications from engineering firms will be posted on the ODNR website early next week, Wisse said.

"The process will take four to five months to get a signed contract," Wisse said. "This starts the construction planning process."

The dredging work will be performed about eight hours a day, five days a week, until early fall. It could eventually expand to 10 hours a day, seven days a week, Wisse said.

"We're trying to simply maintain a certain depth," Wisse said. "It strips a layer of the lake bottom off. Dredging removes silt."

The dredging does not cover the entire lake but might cover more areas than normal, he said.

"We are going to do some priority dredging," Wisse said. "We intend to do some dredging to improve navigation to some area businesses and areas most impacted by the low lake level."

The depth of the lake was about 4 feet to 6 feet on Friday, Wisse said, about a foot above the normal winter pool level.

The summer pool lake depths are normally 6 feet to 8 feet, Wisse said, but the state decided to keep levels low because of concerns the dam could give way and put 3,000 area residents in danger.

In the event of significant rains, the state could partially close the gates of the primary spillway, on Ohio 79, to reduce water flow into the area.

"But this is not a flood control reservoir," Wisse said. "And typically, what happens is, when most of the flooding occurs, it backs up out of the Licking River and water comes towards Buckeye Lake."

The state wants to avoid closing the gates, however, because it increases the lake water level, which increases pressure on the deteriorating dam.

kmallettt@newarkadvocate.com

740-328-8545

Twitter: @kmallett1958