Ice Damage to Concrete Dam

Brian,
By the look of the dam pictures with all the collected ice from the low water, and reports of nearby pier damage from the stacked ice back-up on the river the old designers and builders had a better idea.

In 1917 the Railroad Commission had a requirement for continuous water coverage of 1'' over the top of the dam at all times. Two purposes were served. 1. The freeze / thaw damage to the concrete structure would be reduced due to continued wetting. 2. The more obvious stacking of ice floes is the result of this years un-seasonal weather, the damage would much less of a factor with a higher level.

The top of the dam level is 775.28 above msl 1" of water would put it at the old orders 775.4 an inch above the top of the dam. The lowest it was this winter by weekly reading by me is 774.47. That puts the water at 9.72 " below the top of the dam.

When there is nothing coming in it is real difficult to protect the structure alone, much less private property. I believe holding to the bottom of the summer (775.73)order would be acceptable as a level for winter.

With very little ice build-up on the lake this winter and the mild weather heading our way, I expect an early break-up and with that the chances are good for further damage to private property.

Is it possible to request the change for next year? This year is already suffered damage, next year should be corrected.

Jerry Richardson