By BILL MARDIS Editor Emeritus
Lake Cumberland has nearly reached the level where it will remain for the rest of this year unless there is an unforeseen crisis at Wolf Creek Dam.
The lake level at 10 a.m. yesterday was 680.70 feet above sea level, about seven-tenths of a foot above the target that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said would be reached by Monday. The lake had remained steady over several hours and David Treadway, public affairs specialist for the Corps, said the current level is about where it’s going to stay.
Rain currently falling in the Cumberland River Basin will affect the water level, Treadway said.
“Rain will adjust the flow up and down, but we’re trying to keep (the lake level) at 680,” he commented. The 680 number is a sea-level measurement and, for the lake, that translates to 43 feet below the tree line. Sea level is at the surface of the sea. Lakes, ocean beds and mountains are measured as so many feet above or below sea level.
Water from the lake can be released through the dam’s generators and sluice gates in the lower part of the structure. Water rushes through the sluice gates under high pressure and creates a plume at the base of the dam,” Treadway said.
The tailrace below the dam is a popular trout fishing spot and fishermen are still allowed to fish there.
“We haven’t stopped people from fishing (below the dam),” Treadway said, “but we advise them not to get too close to the water ... it changes rapidly.”
The Corps last month announced that the level of the lake would be lowered drastically because of instability at Wolf Creek Dam, the giant earthen and concrete structure that impounds Lake Cumber-land. Water is seeping through and beneath the dam and the structure has been classified as at a “high risk” of failure.
The Corps last week distributed previously classified maps to public libraries in communities below the dam to show what properties would be inundated in case of catastrophic failure of the dam.
Treadway said “we’re working” to comply with a request from the Pulaski County Public Library for copies of the maps. He indicated the local library may receive copies of the maps even though this area is above the dam and would not be in harm’s way in the unlikely event of a dam failure.
The Corps has scheduled a public meeting at 6:30 p.m. February 22 at The Center for Rural Development in Somerset. It is one of a series of public sessions being held above and below Wolf Creek Dam to hear comments and disseminate information about problems at the dam.
A Media Day is set for March 8 at Wolf Creek Dam. This session with reporters apparently will include viewing of problem areas at the dam.
Craig Shoe, resource manager for Lake Cumberland, said they met with contractors yesterday to get work started as soon as possible to extend landlocked boat ramps into the water. Efforts are being made both at the federal, state and county levels to provide access to the lake before the tourist season begins.
According to the Corps’ Web site, the following commercial marina and Corps of Engineers-operated boat ramps are currently unusable due to low lake elevations: Buck Creek, Alligator Dock #1, Alligator #2, Lake Cumberland State Dock (construction reasons), Burnside Marina, Beaver Creek Dock, London Dock (mud), Grider Hill Marina, Fishing Creek, Lakeview, Fall Creek and Cumberland Point.
The following are boat ramps that the Corps believes will be usable at elevation 680: Halcomb's Landing (small boats less 20 feet), Waitsboro (small boats less than 20 feet), Cave Creek (approx. 15 feet of concrete left, then mud), Conley Bottom Marina (campground ramp, small boats less than 20 feet), Lee's Ford Marina (launch time may be limited due to on-going construction), Jamestown Marina, and Burnside Island State Park (one lane concrete to gravel -- small boats only). These ramps will be monitored closely; conditions are subject to change as the elevation lowers, the Corps said.
Lake Cumberland was created in 1950 when the Corps of Engineers impounded the Cumberland River as a flood control and hydroelectric project. The lake is over 100 miles long. Wolf Creek Dam is the 22nd largest in the United States. The concrete and earthen dam is over a mile long and 258 feet high at its tallest point.
