The US Army Corps of Engineers' web site
Center Hill Dam Seepage Reduction
Introduction
Welcome to the Nashville District's web site
for the Center Hill Dam Seepage Reduction Study.
Currently, Three issues are relevant:
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Fixing The Dam
The Corps of
Engineers, Nashville District has an approved plan to address serious
seepage at Center Hill Dam and has obtained Federal funds for design and
construction of a long term fix. Construction will begin in 2008 and be
completed by 2014. Four large construction contracts are planned. The
first contract was recently awarded to address the most critical parts
of the dam affected by seepage, the earthen embankment of the main dam
and the left rim (to the southwest of the dam). Throughout construction
we will continue to closely monitor the dam.
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| Lake Levels throughout Construction
The seepage problems are made worse during continual high lake levels;
therefore, maintaining lower lake elevations is necessary until we get a
permanent remedy in place.
Since March of 2005, we have attempted to keep fall, winter and early
spring lake levels from extreme rises. We have also attempted to operate
the lake on the low end of our normal annual operating band. During
construction, however, the Corps plans to target Center Hill Lake levels
between elevation 630 feet above mean sea level (msl) in the summer and
no lower than elevation 618 msl during the late fall and early winter.
These elevations are approximately five to ten feet lower than recent
pool operating levels, and as much as eighteen feet lower than normal
operating levels. During the five year repair period, this interim pool
operation will be periodically re-evaluated to determine if Center Hill
Lake can be safely raised, maintained, or if further lowering is
necessary to ensure safety.
The chosen levels are the result of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
developed over the past year. The EIS evaluated potential impacts caused
by each of nine lake level alternatives.
The process included consideration of safety concerns, potential impact
to project purposes, and the views of the State of Tennessee, other
federal agencies, affected stakeholders, and the public. The goal of the
EIS was to identify an alternative that balanced the safety of the
downstream human and natural environment against the reduction of
project benefits from water supply, water quality, recreation,
navigation, and hydropower.
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Emergency Action and Information
Although not anticipated, there are events that could cause the Corps to
lower the lake as an emergency action. Your County Emergency Managers
have maps of areas which could flood if Center Hill Dam were to fail.
The Corps has an aggressive Dam Safety program to constantly monitor all
of our dams in the Cumberland River system and Center Hill is being
monitored constantly. Lower lake levels have slowed the seepage
progression. The Corps will use news articles, websites, and public
meetings to keep the public informed of the dam’s condition and of
progress of the foundation remedy throughout construction.
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Accurate and timely information is critical to the effective resolution
of many issues associated with Corps of Engineers projects. This web
site has been established to provide information you need to stay
informed. The site will be updated, based on the needs of our site
visitors. Please let us know what you need. Please share this site with
others interested in this project.
Please provide your questions or comments about the
Center Hill Dam Seepage Rehabilitation Project on the
comments page. This email account will be monitored
by the Public Affairs Office and a response sent back
within two working days.
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