Sources: Rumors that lake will be lowered another 20 feet are false

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July 16, 2008

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By BILL MARDIS, Editor Emeritus The Commonwealth Journal Wed Jul 16, 2008, 11:08 AM EDT

Somerset — A story making the rounds that Lake Cumberland will be lowered another 20 feet next month apparently is false, according to a wide circle of experts involved with or affected by the condition of the lake.

Apparently originating in Russell County, the story, circulating on the Internet and sent to the Commonwealth Journal, indicates that John Sherman Cooper Power Station at Burnside has been given 30 days to lower its intake cooling pumps. The story, now defined as a rumor, added urgency by quoting a source as saying the Corps “hopes” Cooper Station has 30 days to extend its pipes before the emergency drawdown.

Nick Comer, spokesman for East Kentucky Power Cooperative, owner-operator of Cooper Station, emphatically refutes the rumor.

“East Kentucky Power Cooperative (EKPC) is not aware of any plans by the Corps of Engineers to change the level of the lake,” Comer told the Commonwealth Journal yesterday morning.

Allison Jarrett, public affairs specialist at the Corps’ Nashville District, emphasized that Cooper Station has NOT been notified by the Corps that the lake is going to be dropped another 20 feet.

“That’s absolutely NOT the case,” Jarrett told the Commonwealth Journal. “We haven’t given them any date like that and we have no plans to lower the lake further than it is now.” Since January 2007, the lake has been kept about 40 feet below normal levels to ease pressure on Wolf Creek Dam.

Will Smith, chief of staff at Congressman Hal Rogers’ office, agrees. He said yesterday morning that the congressman’s office has received no indication or information that the Corps plans any change in the lake level. Smith said the congressman’s office has gotten “a rumor a week” since the dam rehabilitation project began.

Somerset Mayor Eddie Girdler is on the same page.

“We’ve gotten no e-mails ... no information like that from the Corps.” said Girdler. The mayor expressed confidence that if the lake were going to be lowered, the city and its engineers would be informed.

Burnside Mayor Chuck Fourman also told the Commonwealth Journal yesterday that he is not aware of any planned changes in the lake level.

The apparently unfounded story is causing ripples along the lake.

“I heard the rumor ... but we’ve got no official notice of anything like that,” said Layne Wilson, manager of Burnside Marina.

J.D. Hamilton, owner of Lee’s Ford Resort Marina, also has heard rumors that the lake might be lowered “ ... but officials with the Corps tell me this is NOT the case.”

Grounds for the rumor may have been cultivated a couple of weeks ago by what has been called a faulty instrument reading at Wolf Creek Dam. Corps officials admitted the inaccurate reading, indicating excessive movement in the dam, initially created a scare and a discussion by the Dam Safety Committee about possibly lowering the lake further. Public safety officials in cities and counties below the dam were notified of the situation as was East Kentucky Power Cooperative.

Also, maybe adding fuel to the rumor is current planning by East Kentucky Power Cooperative to “reposition” barge-mounted pumps at Cooper Station “ ... simply to be prepared in the event of a quick drawdown of the lake,” Comer said. Repositioning of the pumps, still in the planning stage, reflects on the mini-crisis created by the faulty instrument reading, he added.

If a decision is made to reposition the barge-mounted pumps at Cooper Station, “it will only take about a week,” Comer said.

Ed Evans, chief of public affairs for the Corps’ Nashville District, said additional monitoring devices are being installed at Wolf Creek Dam in response to the inaccurate reading on an inclinometer, an instrument that measures fractional movement in the dam.

A news release from the Corps late last month said: “In the area adjacent to the concrete (section of) the dam, we are re-evaluating our grouting program. This is the area with the most caves and voids in the foundation and we are finding that closing of the grout line with our current grout processes is not possible.” Grouting is pumping chemically enhanced liquid concrete into the dam to fill cavities in the limestone karst.

Construction of Wolf Creek Dam was begun in the early 1940s, then interrupted by World War II before being completed in December 1950. It was built on limestone karst and cavities in the limestone base were packed with clay. Uncontrolled seepage was halted in the 1970s with a concrete diaphragm but the Corps decided in early 2005 that a major rehabilitation of the dam is necessary.

An accelerated grouting program was begun in January 2007. Two grout curtains are planned, one on each side of the proposed diaphragm wall to be inserted in the earthen section.

Proposals for the second diaphragm wall, longer and deeper than the original wall, currently are being evaluated. A contract for the concrete wall is scheduled to be let before the end of the month.

Corps officials have said they would evaluate the lake level upon completion of the initial grout curtain. However, this was delayed because of the aforementioned problems with closing the first curtain. Evans said recently there will be no change in the level this season, ending speculation that the water could be raised 10 feet this year.

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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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