Replacement dam unlikely

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A final report on the feasibility of a roller-compacted concrete dam to replace the leaky earthen section of Wolf Creek Dam is expected the last of June. Corps officials say a planned diaphragm likely will prove more feasible than a roller-compacted dam. The new-type dam would force Lake Cumberland to be lowered to unprecedented levels during construction. Dennis Bolton Photo

June 15, 2007

Feasibility study likely to nix roller-compacted concrete dam

By BILL MARDIS Editor Emeritus The Commonwealth Journal Fri Jun 15, 2007, 09:18 AM EDT

A roller-compacted concrete dam to effectively replace the earthen section of troubled Wolf Creek Dam apparently is becoming less likely as time draws nearer for a final report on a feasibility study of the massive rehabilitation project.

Dave Treadway, public affairs specialist for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Nashville District, told the Commonwealth Journal this week that “ ... all indications point to a diaphragm as the most feasible, most cost effective, most workable plan.” He said a final report on the current study probably will be made the last of June.

“The report will give us enough information so we will know if we can rule out (a roller-compacted dam),” Treadway said. “If such a new dam appears feasible, more work will have to be done,” he added.

A diaphragm -- a four-to-five-foot-thick concrete wall extending through the earthen section of the dam and some 100 feet into the bedrock below the dam -- is the original plan and the one for which preparations currently are being made.

A contract for a diaphragm is tentatively scheduled to be let in December. It would be the second concrete wall extended through the earthen section of the dam. However, the diaphragm built during the 1970s was not as long or as deep as the planned structure.

A roller-compacted dam would be constructed with layers of concrete, each compacted with heavy equipment. The structure would be immediately downstream from the existing earthen section and would tie in with the existing concrete part of the dam. The earthen dam would remain and U.S. 127 across the dam would be undisturbed, according to early reports.

Lt. Col. Steven J. Roemhildt, commander of the Corps’ Nashville District, recently told the Commonwealth Journal that a roller-compacted dam would require lowering the lake level much lower than now, a situation unacceptable in a region where the economy is tied closely with the lake. He said the proposed diaphragm “will provide a permanent fix until the end of the (21st) century.”

Treadway, after discussing the new-type dam with Mike Zoccola, chief of the Corps’ Civil Design Branch, said building a roller-compacted dam would require “shutting down Wolf Creek Dam as we know it today ... and refilling the lake.”

“Would that mean draining the lake?” a reporter questioned.

“Basically,” responded Treadway. He said a completed roller-compacted dam would mean the entire length of the mile-long dam would be concrete. There apparently are no problems in the existing concrete section.

Lake Cumberland has been operating at 680 feet above sea level, about 43 feet below normal, since January. The water was lowered to ease pressure on Wolf Creek Dam, classified as in “high risk” of failure by a panel of outside experts.

Treadway said the drought in the Cumberland River Basin “ ... is actually helping” to maintain the current lake level. Pointing out that the Corps is required by law to keep nine feet of water in the navigable channel of the Cumberland River, Treadway said part of this mission has been taken over by Dale Hollow Lake.

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Pulaski carries Girdler to win

In the weeks leading up to Tuesday’s primary election, it was impossible to miss the colorful signs dotting nearly every Pulaski roadway. The names in the race for the 15th State Senatorial District seat popped out: A.C. Donahue. Chris Girdler. Mark Polston.

Once citizens hit the ballots, however, the results mirrored the dimensions of the signs themselves: Chris Girdler stood the tallest.

Girdler, deputy district director for Congressman Harold “Hal” Rogers, ran away with the votes inside Pulaski County’s borders, earning 3,926 votes for 62.05 percent of the total number cast.

That number more than doubled the next highest vote-getter, businessman Mark Polston, who raked in 1,624 votes for 25.67 percent.

However, Polston — who owns Classic Carpet, a home-flooring business located just off the southern 914 bypass — can claim a moral victory ... three of them, in fact. In all three counties in the district other than Pulaski — those being Adair, Casey, and Russell Counties — Polston actually edged out Girdler.

In Adair, Polston beat Girdler 629 to 394. In Casey County, it was 538 to 417, and in Russell, it was 1,862 to 1,038.

Polston said he just “couldn’t pull it out with the numbers” and that “the machine worked for” Girdler in Pulaski County.

“I think that was their strategy — I think they had a Pulaski County strategy all along,” said Polston. “They played the political game well.”

Polston said the difference between his and Girdler’s campaigns was that “mine was a very, very grass roots campaign,” he said. “I did not have a political machine behind me. I understand how this process works, and in this instance, he prevailed.”

As for why Girdler didn’t take three of four counties, the winning candidate — since there are no Democrats in the race, winning the Republican primary was effectively a final victory for Girdler — said he didn’t have an answer for that.

However, “I believe things happen for a reason and I hope the long and strenuous campaign will only heighten my desire to move beyond the bitterness and partisanship of the recent past,” said Girdler.

“Regionalism is a goal of mine, and I look forward to helping all four counties,” he added, noting that he campaigned heavily in each of them.

Sen. Vernie McGaha, the long-time state senator whose seat the candidates were vying for, actually supported Polston after Liberty’s Todd Hoskins dropped out of the race earlier this month.

Donahue, a local attorney, got 556 votes in Pulaski County, 8.79 percent of the vote. He only received 145 votes in Russell County, 74 in Adair County, and 75 in Casey County, where hometown candidate Hoskins almost matched him with 71 votes despite no longer being officially in the race.

Polston said he’s “still digesting” what happened, and though “the process has been a very good experience for me,” he wouldn’t commit to running again in the future. “I wouldn’t shut the door to anything, but I’m not opening any doors either.”

Still, “I think I got a lot of people involved in the process that had not been involved before and would not have been otherwise,” he said. “A lot of people got out and worked really hard, got motivated to talk to friends and neighbors. I think a lot of people became involved through this campaign that are going to be involved for a long time.”

Girdler stressed his “positive message” and said that Rogers is a “mentor and good friend” that he would turn to for advice in dealing with a frequently combative legislative body in Frankfort, one for which Girdler hopes to help change the culture.

Girdler said that he was “confident and optimistic” during the day Tuesday because he’d “worked extremely hard.” Nevertheless, the realization that he’d won gave him “chill bumps,” he said.

“I’m absolutely honored,” said Girdler. “The position of state senator is more than an honor, more than an office. It’s a charge to keep, and I will give it my all.

“I pledge to be the people’s state senator,” he added. “I look forward to working with everyone to move this region forward.”

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