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Grouting procedures at Wolf Creek Dam were altered last week over concerns in the area where the concrete portion meets the earthen section. An additional rig was placed in the same area this week to complete more exploratory drilling.

In Thursday, July 3, 2008 issue

Just as the 2008 tourism season began hitting it’s full stride in the Lake Cumberland area, the U.S.Army Corps of Engineers announced last week concerns about progress in regards to the grouting program that has been ongoing in an effort to slow or stop leaks in the structure.

The warning seen by motorists as they approach the construction site.

Work continues at Wolf Creek Dam in the initial phase to stop water that is seeping underneath the earthen and concrete structure that impounds the Cumberland River to form Lake Cumberland.

For the past 18 months, crews have been drilling into the dam and injecting a concrete-like substance referred to as grout into the structure in hopes of filling voids that have been discovered in the karst limestone foundation the dam sits on.

The most recent development saw an additional drilling rig being placed on top of Wolf Creek Dam, near the area where the concrete portion of the structure and the earthen portion meet.

On Tuesday, there were conflicting reports concerning the situation at Wolf Creek Dam that surfaced as well.

The Commonwealth Journal, a daily newspaper in Somerset, reported in an article by Bill Mardis that last week’s situation was caused by an inacurate reading of an instrument that measures movement of the dam.

Earlier reports are that a much more rapid settling than normal has been recorded in this area. Normally, the earthen portion settlement rate of about one-eighth inch per year has been recorded. However, in the past year, settlement of about an inch in the area has been recorded.

These recent developments and a re-evaluation of the success of the grouting operations, particularly in one critical area, have caused the Corps of Engineers to stop pumping grout where the earthen section meets the concrete portion of the dam.

“In the area adjacent to the concrete dam, we are re-evaluating our grouting program,” said Barney Davis, Jr. Chief, Engineering-Construction Division, noted in the release issued last week. “This is the area with the most caves and voids in the foundation and we are finding that closing the grout line with our current grout processes is not possible.”

Davis went on to note that a detailed review of all the available data was being made, as well as the installation of additional monitoring instruments in the area where the earth joins the concrete portion of the structure.

Still, Davis emphasized that it was the stance of the Corps at this time, that this most recent observation and evaluation did not mean that there was any call for heightened concern on the part of the public over the overall integrity of Wolf Creek Dam.

“While this is a concern, it does not impose additional risk to the public,” Davis said. “While public safety remains the primary concern of the Corps of Engineers, we have been pleased the visitors continue to hold Lake Cumberland among Kentucky’s primary destinations for recreation this summer.”

Since construction was completed in 1955, Wolf Creek Dam has encountered seepage problems and in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, a similar attempt at stopping the seepage was undertaken.

In that earlier attempt, concrete grout was pumped into the foundation and the earthen embankment, and that was followed up by the installation of a steel and concrete wall that extended about three-fourths of the length of the earthen portion of the structure, and down into the foundation.

In relation to the steps being taken to re-evaluate the grouting processes in the critical area where the seepage continues to be seen, additional drilling equipment was moved onto the dam over this past weekend and steps were begun to begin drilling exploratory core holes.

Because of the placement of the new drilling equipment at the crest of the dam, officials were forced to close the southbound lane of U.S. 127.

A separate press release from the COE issued on Monday noted however that plans were to have both lanes of traffic open during this weekend’s July 4 holiday when traffic is expected to be considerably heavier than normal in the area.

Also, it was noted that the new rig and it’s crew would be operating on a 24 hour daily schedule in order to reduce the inconvenience of closing the roadway.

Reports after that second press release from the Corps of Engineers were different still, with the Commonwealth Journal reporting that the new drilling equipment atop the dam structure, was being used to install new and additional instruments used in measuring movement of the dam.

At presstime Tuesday, the Corps of Engineers had not yet issued any additional releases with new information regarding the current situation at Wolf Creek Dam.

Davis also noted that the Corps would be “‘working transparent” with local emergency management agencies.

Clinton County Emergency Management Director Lonnie Scott confirmed Monday afternoon that he had been contacted by the Corps of Engineers multiple times since last week in regards to this newest development at the dam.

The current process of pumping grout into Wolf Creek Dam, while designed to slow or even stop water seepage underneath the structure, isn’t the final fix for the problem, but could best be described perhaps as the “band-aid before life saving surgery.”

Much like the eventual fix performed in the 1970’s, the Corps plans on installing yet another concrete barrier wall to serve as what will hopefully be the permanent resolve to the seepage problem.

This time, however, they plan on extending the wall the full length of the earthen portion of the dam, something that wasn’t done in the earlier attempt when the concrete barrier wall was put in place and spanned only about three-fourths of the length of the earthen section.

Also, the current plans involving the concrete wall call for the installation to reach as far as 100 feet below the bedrock foundation of Wolf Creek Dam, which should take the wall as much as 75 feet deeper than the previous wall, hopefully reaching below the caves and openings that have allowed water to move through over the years.

Another issue that concerns local officials and marina owners is the depth of Lake Cumberland while this construction process continues.

Normally held at a summer pool level of 720 feet above sea level, the decision was made in January, 2007 to lower the pool some 40 feet, to an elevation of 680, and to hold the level at that elevation for an indefinite time.

In recent months since the grouting program had been well underway, there had been some speculation that the level might perhaps be increased by as much as ten feet, but with this most recent development, seeing a deeper Lake Cumberland is likely out of the picture for at least the remainder of this tourism season.

The Corps’ decision to raise the pool at Lake Cumberland remains “contingent on completion of key structural measures and acceptable performance of the project,” noted last week’s press release.

In that same release, the Corps did express the agency’s pleasure in learning that marina owners on Lake Cumberland had reported an increase in business and in particular houseboat rentals this season over the 2007 tourism season and most notably in comparing the Memorial Day holiday traffic this year and last.

“Visitation during that weekend increased nearly ten percent from 2007, which is largely attributable to the collaborative efforts of the Southern and Eastern Kentucky Tourism Development Association (SEKTDA), local businesses and the Kentucky Department of Tourism,” the release noted.

An extensive media campaign earlier this year targeted boaters and vacationers from not only Kentucky, but Indiana and Ohio in an effort to make visitors aware of the recreational improvement around Lake Cumberland’s more than 1,200 miles of available shoreline.

Still, while the recreational benefits of Lake Cumberland to the local economy appears to continue to be a major concern for Corps of Engineers officials, it continues to be the safety of the public that is the chief concern of the agency.

“Indefinitely eliminating all seepage issues and safety concerns at Wolf Creek Dam in a timely manner is a top priority for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers nationally,” said LTC Bernard Lindstrom, Nashville District Commander. “Some of the Corps’ most talented engineers are fully engaged on this project, and all available scientific and financial resources are being employed to ensure successful completion of the project while maintaining the absolute highest standards of public safety.”

Grouting procedures at Wolf Creek Dam were altered last week over concerns in the area where the concrete portion meets the earthen section.