Cumberland dam failing

[kygorski]

Lake viewdessert,excuse the spelling, that was the one I was talking about, but big st germain has changed into a summer mecca for water nuts also. You cant even get away from the idiots in the winter, snow mobiles are just as big a nusance as jet ski's

[Wiskers]

Yep I'm running the Cumberland river this trip & the office sent us a notice that flow rates were gonna increase for the next few days while they draw the lake down!

[fiddlefarter]

What boat you on Wiskers?

[EDDY CREEK BANDIT]

Hey Whiskers, I am glad to see you post. I have been thinking about you since the Tow sank last weekend. I am glad to see you weren't involved. Did you know any of the guys on that boat?
THE BANDIT

[Loatz Lake Loafer]

"Fearing a dam break that could cause catastrophic flooding in Kentucky and Tennessee, the Army Corps of Engineers began lowering the water level in Lake Cumberland Monday.

The measure was aimed at reducing pressure on the weakened 240-foot-high dam, said Lt. Col. Steven J. Roemhildt, commander of the corps' Nashville office.

"We must take this emergency action to reduce risk to the public and to the dam itself," he said in a statement.

If the dam, which is nearly a mile long, were to break, flooding in communities downstream along the Cumberland River could kill people and cause an estimated $3.4 billion in damage, Roemhildt said.

Cities along the Cumberland include Nashville, Tenn., whose metro area contains 1.4 million people.

Kentucky Commerce Secretary George Ward said as many as 90 percent of the launching ramps will be unusable because they won't reach the water's surface."

http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs....WS01/701230350

Mississinewa reservoir in Indiana had a similar problem a few years ago, the earthen portion of part of the dam was settling due to seepage through a layer of soil below the dam. To prevent a possible failure of the earthen portion of the dam the water level of the lake was lowered about 20 feet below summer pool from the fall of 1999 until repairs were completed in the spring of 2005.

To repair the dam a slot was excavated down to the bedrock and a concrete barrier wall was poured to stop the seepage of water under the dam. The repair was 2,600 feet long and 150 to 180 feet deep. The contractor was a joint venture between Bencor/Petrifond; Bencor is out of Dallas Tx. while Petrifond is Canadian.

There are only a handful of companies that specialize in this process world wide and the repair to the dam at Mississinewa is a lot smaller than the repair needed at Cumberland, with WKRN of Nashville reporting a mile long stretch of the earthen dam needing repairs and Wolf creek dam is listed at 240 feet high with the concrete retaining wall inside the dam probably needing to be even higher.

Also of note is that during the Mississinewa repair the roadway across the dam had to be closed during the repairs and a little temporary roadway and bridge was built below the dam for local traffic.

The cost of the Mississinewa repair was fifty five million dollars.

Artifact hunters had a heyday picking up Native American artifacts as the bare land eroded with each rainfall. I would suggest that some attempt be made to plant the newly exposed soil with some cover crop to reduce erosion, a policy not followed at Mississinewa.

Many local businesses failed during the years of the lowered water level at Mississinewa, marinas moved or went under, bait shops closed and brush and trees slowly started to reclaim the newly exposed land. The impact on the economy at Lake Cumberland will be even more intense as Lake Cumberland is ringed with many more businesses targeting the lakes many users,

[CoolCrappie]

I'm sure this is good safety measure that has to be completed.
How will this effect the Trout program at the Wolf Dam?
I know that the water is a chilling 52 degrees from the bottom of the lake. A temp that is constant and perfect for the trout. By lowering the lake won't the sun be able to reach deeper and warm the water to an unacceptable temperture that could harm the program?
Does anyone have any information on this?

[Wiskers]

What boat you on Wiskers?

I'm on the M/V Midland Star this trip.

[Wiskers]

Hey Whiskers, I am glad to see you post. I have been thinking about you since the Tow sank last weekend. I am glad to see you weren't involved. Did you know any of the guys on that boat?
THE BANDIT

Yep that was a bad deal. The boat that sunk was the M/v Bruce D. I caught the boat that rescued 2 of the crew the morning after the incident. They never have found the 3rd guy. I appreciate your concern. I just came by your ol'stomp'n grounds yesterday ( Eddy Creek, Little River). I am up above Cheatam lock right now headed to Nashville. Wish I was fish'n! :D