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PROGRESS MADE ON LAKE ARBUTUS DAM
Thursday, September 27th, 2007 -- 12:26 pm
Posted by Riley Hebert-News Director
Lake Arbutus remains drawn down, but that could change over the winter.
The water level of the lake—which is controlled by the dam—was lowered six-feet in September 2005 so needed repairs of the dam could take place.
Robby McDonald, West Central Regional Manager for North American Hydro, told us in May they hoped to return the lake to its normal level this Fall, but that's not going to happen.
"The original bearing blocks were not cast to the drawing. It's kind of caused a delay," McDonald says. "The foundry is working on those now. I should have those by the second or third week of October."
It's been an eventful summer at the dam, though.
"The cutting of the top of the dam, in which we removed two feet. Then there were a series of peers—or hydraulic cylinder and gate seal supports that were poured and there is a curb that gets poured between each one of those," McDonald explains. "That's what the gates actually seal on."
"That's all been done."
The actual gates have been fabricated and are being painted on-site, McDonald adds.
They'll probably be ready to raise the water level by December, but weather will dictate the timing.
"I'm going to work with the DNR really close. There are times ice forms on the lake by Thanksgiving, but then there are times when it really didn't form that much until January. If there's people out there ice fishing and you start raising the pond, it's going to make ice conditions really unstable," McDonald says.
It could take a couple weeks, or a couple months to return the lake to normal levels, depending on the flow of the Black River.
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