Wolf Creek Peer Review Team Makes Recommendations

April 24, 2007, A team of engineers has reviewed the plans for repairs at Wolf Creek Dam and made key recommendations to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, according to U.S. Rep. Bart Gordon.

The recommendations made by the Wolf Creek Peer Review Team include a call for an immediate reduction in the water level at Lake Cumberland. If the Corps finds that recommendation impractical, the Peer Review Team recommends foundation grouting at critical areas be completed by May 30.

“The Corps should take every reasonable precaution to protect the lives and property of those who live downstream of Lake Cumberland,” said Gordon. “While a dam break is unlikely, the results would be devastating.”

A copy of the Peer Review Team’s report is available at Gordon’s Web site at www.house.gov/bart.

Lake Cumberland is the largest reservoir east of the Mississippi River. Corps officials estimate flood damage could top $3 billion if a break were to occur at Wolf Creek Dam.

In January, the Corps lowered water levels on Lake Cumberland and began a $300 million rehabilitation on Wolf Creek Dam to combat seepage that has persisted throughout the dam’s 54 year history. Corps officials say the repair work could take seven years to complete.

The Corps has provided Wolf Creek Dam Failure Inundation Maps showing flooding that could occur based on various scenarios of a dam failure. The maps are available at designated public libraries throughout Middle Tennessee. They are also online at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Web site at www.lrn.usace.army.mil/WolfCreek/maps.htm and through Gordon’s Web site.