Wednesday, December 10, 2003
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Wednesday, December 10, 2003 |
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Fayetteville takes action to prevent Pye Lake from flooding homeowners By JOHN MUNFORD Fayetteville crews have installed a siphon to begin lowering the level of Pye Lake by about four feet to prevent the weakened dam from breaching. Although the lake is privately owned, the city is taking the action as a public safety measure, said City Manager Joe Morton. The temporary solution was approved by officials from Georgia’s Safe Dams program, which previously declared that safety problems at the dam could result in a flood that would likely kill at least one person living downstream. City Engineer Don Easterbrook estimated it cost a couple of hundred dollars to purchase the four-inch pipe for the first phase, which took city crews one day to install. The second phase, which will be a longer-term solution, involves the installation of a second siphon with a bigger pipe to help keep the lake levels down, Easterbrook said. That pipe will also be installed by city crews once the lake’s level lowers a bit more, Easterbrook said. “We had hoped to be able to do it by now,” Easterbrook said, but the lake level hasn’t fallen enough yet. The siphon system has the water discharging at the lake’s normal discharge area, he added. More than 20 nearby homes on Cornwallis Way and Monmouth Drive are located below the lake and could be in harm’s way if the dam is breached, causing the lake to flood, authorities said. Homes in that area have experienced flooding and extensive damage on several occasions, most recently in late spring when Fayetteville was deluged by a heavy rainstorm that caused flooding problems throughout the city. Safe Dams officials have mandated the Pye Lake dam be repaired soon, but they agreed to wait until January so the city can evaluate the situation. “We’re doing an analysis of the whole drainage basin to see what benefit it provides for flood control,” Easterbrook said. If the city doesn’t foot the estimated $250,000 bill to fix the dam, it’s likely the owner will have to breech the dam, effectively putting an end to the lake in favor of increasing the safety of the nearby residents. Harriet Parham, who owns the property, previously said she does not have the money to perform the upgrade to the dam. But if the city decides to improve the dam with funds from its recently-created stormwater utility, the city may need to have possession of the lake property itself, Easterbrook said. That would have to be negotiated with Parham, who has been very cooperative with city officials working on the matter, Easterbrook said.
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