Outside contractor filled in a scour.
By Susan Thompson | Lake Panorama Times
A major capital project for the Lake Panorama Association was completed in early August when an outside contractor filled in a scour near the dam.
The scour was discovered during the five-year inspection of the dam, which was completed in 2022.
“We hired divers to do a more extensive analysis than we normally do,” John Rutledge, LPA general manager, says. “They used ultrasound on the steel dam gate, which was the first time we’ve done that in 50 years. That analysis was great.”
While the divers were in the water, they did a sonar reading of the lake bottom near the dam and found the scour.
“It likely developed over time, and we needed to install large rip rap to ensure continued flow does not undermine the footings of the dam,” Rutledge says. “This was not a short-term emergency but rather a long-term proactive investment.”
Work began the last week of July and was completed the first week of August. The project had a $200,000 budget.
Country Landscapes was the low bidder for this project. The crew stockpiled rock near the emergency spillway at the dam, using large, side-dump trailers to carry the rock along the backside of the south shore. The rock then was placed on a large barge, taken to the scour location, and placed in the water using a mini excavator to fill in the hole. The company’s barge completed an extensive invasive species inspection before being placed on the lake.
“Both Country Landscapes and Shive Hattery Engineers did a great job for LPA on this project,” Rutledge says. “We are pleased to report the scour was successfully filled within the allocated budget and the desired timeline.”