City hopes to start in September; new exercise, playground equipment to be added

Peachtree City needs two permits to begin the rehabilitation of the dam at Huddleston Pond, which once completed will allow the pond to return back to its normal level.

But that still could be a while, as the city can’t submit its wetland disturbance permit because the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has put a freeze on accepting such applications, said City Engineer David Borkowski.

The Corps took that action while it drafts new regulations for the wetland permit applications, and the city can’t submit its application until it knows what the new rules are, Borkowski said.

The Corps is expected to issue the new permit rules by the end of the month, Borkowski said. Meanwhile, the city is preparing to submit the second permit, for a buffer variance, to the Georgia Environmental Protection Division, he added.

Borkowski said he still anticipates construction beginning in September.

There is some good news about the project: the city will save at least $100,000 on the project since it can re-use soil already on the project for the dam reconstruction, Borkowski said. Without that option, the city would have had to truck in additional dirt, he added.

And the city will replace the exercise equipment along the path that circles the pond, and add new playground equipment for an estimated total cost of about $40,000.

When all the work is done, the pond will be larger and a new dam will be in place. Structural problems were discovered in the dam and temporary repairs were inadequate, so the city had to lower the pond level to prevent further damage.

The new dam will have a slope that’s less steep than the current dam, which will allow the area to be mowed closer to the lake. The city will also have to remove some trees from the dam area because they were part of the problem that led to the spillpipe degradation.

The damage was first discovered in March 2006, and city officials at first thought construction on the project would begin in February. But the permits had to be put on hold while the soil testing was conducted to determine whether the cost savings could be realized, and then the Corps temporarily stopped accepting the wetland disturbance applications, further delaying the process.