TULSA – Col. Michael Teague, Tulsa District commander, will present an update to federal and state congressional offices and stakeholders regarding the dam safety work at Pine Creek dam. This meeting is open to the public and will be held Tuesday, July 24, 2012, at the Valliant Community Center, beginning at 2:30 p.m. The center is located at 311 Johnston Street, Valliant, Okla.

Wade Anderson, Dam Safety Center director, said the evaluation work at Pine Creek dam continues. All of the interim risk reduction measures have been completed; gate replacement was finished last month. The void identified in the embankment material surrounding the conduit has been further investigated and backfilled with sand. Also, instrumentation was installed to monitor for signs of material movement/loss. After the gates were replaced, the conduit was inspected; deteriorating joint repair and new seepage through conduit joints was observed. Additional observations of abnormal instrumentation results within the area of the backfilled void have led to a decision to extend the current normal pool restriction at elevation 433 through June 2013 and possibly through the end of construction of a permanent risk reduction measure. Conservation measures have been implemented to help ensure availability of water for all project purposes during the drought.

A Dam Safety Modification study is currently being performed for Pine Creek. The purposes of the Dam Safety Modification study are the determination or update of the baseline risk estimate and identification, evaluation, justification, and recommendation of long-term risk reduction remedial measures.

The area of concern identified by the baseline risk assessment was movement of embankment material along and into the conduit due to high water pressures in the embankment. The Tulsa District is developing alternative measures to reduce water pressures and movement of embankment materials at the Pine Creek dam. Each alternative measure is currently being evaluated to determine the best measure(s) to address the concerns with the dam.  The next milestone in the Dam Safety Modification study process is to select an alternative measure or combination of measures by July 31, 2012, for review and approval by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Headquarters.

Pine Creek Dam was placed into operation in 1969. The lake serves the citizens of Oklahoma providing benefits such as water supply, water quality, fish and wildlife, recreation, and flood risk management. The Corps of Engineers wants to ensure that the 42-year-old project will continue to safely provide those important services into the future. The public is encouraged to click on the Hot Topics button on Tulsa District’s website http://www.swt.usace.army.mil for information on Pine Creek dam safety activities.