Officials report Grand Lake dams pose no immediate risk

CELINA - Grand Lake's east and west embankments are old but sturdy and no immediate risks exist, according to local and state officials.

Although results of an October state inspection have yet to be released, no hazardous conditions were found, Ohio Southwest District Park Manager Brian Miller said.

"There was nothing alarming," he said. "If there had been, they would have told us right away."

Miller admitted the 174-year-old earthen dams that border the lake could develop serious issues at any time.

"All dams have the potential to have problems," he said, adding unusually heavy rains and other factors could cause minor issues to escalate. "But for now, everything appears to be in good shape."

Miller added that his staff performs monthly inspections on both state-owned dams.

John Wisse, spokesman for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, said the final report from the October inspection by dam safety engineers with the Division of Soil and Water Resources "is yet to be written."

When asked why it's taken more than seven months to complete, Wisse said engineers annually inspect 300 of the 1,500 dams regulated through the dam safety program. The final report for Grand Lake will be provided to ODNR's Division of Parks and Recreation, he added.

"When it is produced, it's anticipated that it will show no significant change in dam conditions and will likely read very similar to the 2009 inspection report," he said.

Miller said more emphasis has been placed on dam safety in Ohio after the Army Corps of Engineers announced in April the earthen dam at Buckeye Lake near Columbus was in danger of collapse.   

"I guess they know our situation is similar," Miller said.

Although the two lakes have similarities such as their usage and problems with blue-green algae, there are differences, state officials have told The Daily Standard. Numerous homes are built into and have weakened the earthen dam at Buckeye Lake, while roadways and a seawall separate buildings along Grand Lake, they said.

The most recently released report in 2009 shows the local dams were inspected that year on Dec. 1. The only required action not yet completed by ODNR is the removal of trees and brush on upstream and downstream slopes of both banks.

"No, that wasn't done. It's a capital project ... things are done incrementally," Miller said, explaining that spending is prioritized when funds are tight.

The nearly 6-year-old report ordered ODNR to "remove trees and brush from the downstream slope of the west embankment and from the upstream and downstream slopes of the east embankment." Trees are brush are not permitted on embankment surfaces because uprooting can cause structural damage "and provide seepage paths for water."

Engineers also recommended ODNR monitor but take no other action regarding cracks - "hairline to 1/2-inch" - in pavement in several locations from upstream to downstream along West Bank. The concrete spillway, however, was tagged "in good condition."

To fulfill another requirement to secure spillway valve controls at West Bank to prevent vandalism and unauthorized use, ODNR built a structure around the equipment, Miller said.

Several of the engineers' recommended or required actions for West Bank also were ordered for sections of East Bank.

Mort Pugh, supervisor at the fish hatchery along East Bank in St. Marys, accompanied engineers for a small portion of the 2009 inspection but said he remembers little about it. Through his work in and around the lake he also is confident there are no major problems with the local dams.

"We have no leaks," he said. "If there was, we'd be seeing signs."

Grand Lake's earthen dams:
West Bank: 4,800 feet long; 19.5 feet high; 22 feet top width
East Bank: 7,980 feet long; 17.9 feet high; 23 feet top width

• Categorized: Class 1, high-risk with a probable loss of human life in a collapse
• Potential downstream hazard: fatalities, flooding of structure or high-value property, damage to major road, disruption of only access to residential or critical facility area and damage to railroad or public utility, rural buildings and local road
• Drainage area for both: 110.3 square miles or 70,592 acres
• Total water surface elevation above mean sea level: 876.6 feet

History
• 1841: Grand Lake dams constructed by designer Walter H. Weyrich
• 2000, 2005, 2009, 2014: official state dam safety inspections

U.S. most notable dam failures
• Deadliest: 1889, South Fork Dam, Pa., 2,209 dead, $17 million damage
• Costliest: 1972, Buffalo Creek Dam, W.Va., 125 dead, $400 million; and 1976, Teton Dam, Idaho, 11 dead, $400 million
  - Information provided by Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Soil & Water Resources.