Plan for Pye Lake fix near completion

Will be sent to state safety officials for review

By JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@TheCitizenNews.com

Fayetteville’s plan to repair the privately-owned Pye Lake to prevent flooding problems downstream is still being tweaked.

Once Integrated Science and Engineering has completed the plan, it will be submitted to the Georgia Safe Dams Program for approval, said City Engineer Don Easterbrook.

It is expected to take “another few weeks” before the document is ready to send to Safe Dams, Easterbrook added.

After an inspection of Pye Lake’s dam last year, the Safe Dams group determined it had structural problems that could threaten the life of at least one person downstream should the dam fail.

The plan to fix Pye Lake will result in shrinking its overall capacity. The lake’s level has been lowered significantly already by use of siphons, causing residents on the east side of the lake to have a less aesthetic view because land that was formerly at the bottom of the lake is now exposed.

City officials hope the new plan will allow a small pond to be created on the east side of the lake that will restore some water level to those homeowners.

Officials estimated the lake will be reduced from its former average depth of between 10 and 12 feet to between 9 and 10 feet.

Homes on Cornwallis Way and Monmouth Drive downstream of the lake have experienced flooding, most recently last summer when heavy rains deluged Fayetteville overnight.

Harriet Parham, who owns Pye lake, said she cannot afford to fund the necessary improvements to the dam. She has asked the city for assistance and an easement may be necessary for the city to conduct the repairs, which will be funded by Fayetteville’s stormwater utility.

In addition to making improvements to the lake, the city also plans to enlarge the size of culverts that go under Cornwallis Way, which will increase the capacity of water they can handle, officials said.