BUCKEYE LAKE

ODNR: One sinkhole could cause a dam failure

Anna Bisaro
abisaro@gannett.com

BUCKEYE LAKE – For months, state officials have claimed seepage along Buckeye Lake Dam could be the cause of major disaster for residents.

Engineers from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources said there are three main causes for dam failure: overtopping, embankment instabilization and seepage. Seepage occurs when water leaks through the dam, which could create channels that eventually lead to a dam breach.

But inspection logs obtained by The Advocate from the ODNR show there hasn’t been much noticeable evidence of seepage along the dam surface since 2013, which may include wet areas, sinkholes, or surface spots on the dam that have sunk over time. And some of those spots of weakness were not fixed for months.

The ODNR decreased those inspections during 2014 before lowering the water level in 2015.

“It only takes one sinkhole to cause a dam failure,” said George Peter, an engineer for the ODNR. “That’s why every one we see we take very seriously.”

Even with the lake at its low levels, Peter said there are still three areas showing alarming signs of leaking water on the dam.

The coordinates for these seepage sights provided from the ODNR show they are in the area of 3984 N. Bank Road, at the end of West Band Drive NE, and just southwest of Mud Island.

After the dam was placed on high alert status in January 2013, there were almost daily walks of the dam by state park employees for the rest of the year. The regularity of reports provided drops off in 2014, and even more in 2015. There are only two days of inspections recorded for July 2015.

Peter said the dam is being checked less frequently now that the water levels have been lowered. But, he said, the people who are checking now are well-trained to look for signs of seepage.

The ODNR is standing by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ recommendations to keep the lake at winter pool levels.

“When pool levels come up, that’s when seepage is more prevalent,” Peter said. “The reason why the water is down is to limit that seepage.”

Seepage logs

In early July, The Advocate requested the seepage logs for Buckeye Lake Dam from 2010 to the present. The ODNR provided logs only dating back as far as January 2013.

Peter said the early reports were completed by state park staff, not engineers from the department.

While there are mentions of sinkholes and some leaking water at Seller’s Point Spillway in 2013, entire months go by, as indicated by provided records, without a mention of new seepage evidence along the dam. And, sometimes, sinkholes went unfilled for months.

On April 13, 2013, a dam investigator noted a sinkhole at 3835 Sellers Drive. About a month and a half later, an additional sinkhole was noted near where Smitty’s Bar used to be.

Material to fill in those sinkholes was not ordered until mid-June of 2013, and an investigator noted the sinkholes had still not been filled in on Aug. 21, 2013.

More sinkholes were noted in June 2014 on West Bank, but only once, and the exact location was not provided in the record.

Huang Thai, the division of engineering chief for the ODNR, said that sinkholes are not always filled right away. They can be monitored and checked to see whether they continue to settle.

Seller’s Point Spillway showed signs of leaking water on the concrete surface in December 2013 and in the early months of 2014, according to the logs.

On Feb. 15, 2013, a note was made that an I beam was separated from the dam by 2 inches and was in need of rewelding. For the next two and a half years, inspectors continued to note the I beam needed to be fixed. No logs to date indicate the I beam has been rewelded.

Those walking the Buckeye Lake Dam also included any construction projects being done along the dam by homeowners in their reports.

Thai said any encroachment into the dam makes seepage more likely to occur in those spots in the future.

In the writing of the report on Buckeye Lake Dam, engineers from the Corps visited the site in August 2014.

“Embankment defect conditions observed during the 2014 site reconnaissance included sheet pile and masonry wall deterioration, trees rooted in the embankment, seepage, wet areas, and subsidence features,” the 2015 report reads.

The report notes the full extent of the seepage is difficult to estimate because of the private residences along the dam, which cannot be inspected by public employees.

“Nevertheless, the available data are sufficient to support the District’s opinion that the likelihood of dam failure is high based on prior near-failures and adverse conditions at and above normal pool, including but not limited to seepage, wall and dam misalignment, and requirements on several occasions for emergency response actions to prevent breaching,” the report states.

There are currently surveyors out on Buckeye Lake Dam determining the state and private property lines along the dam. Surveying is scheduled to last several weeks.

abisaro@gannett.com

740-328-8822

Twitter: @abisaro_NEW

Open house planned

• What: The Ohio Department of Natural Resources and Gannett Fleming, the engineering firm chosen to do the design work for the Buckeye Lake Dam Improvement Project, will host an open house to discuss the remediation of the dam.

When: 5:30 p.m. Wednesday

Where: Millersport Elementary School, 11850 Lancaster Street, Millersport