IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT TO LAKE FOREST MEMBERS AND ASSOCIATE MEMBERS

We need to do some maintenance work on the Eastwood Lake Dam masonry. The lake level will be temporarily lowered about 2 feet for that work. Our target date is the second half of February, 2012, probably extending into early March.

However, the LFA Board is considering lowering the lake further to about 5½ feet, in order to allow lakefront property owners to do work on docks and bulkheads.  A separate announcement with further details has been sent to them. Here is some more information on this project:

1. WHY WORK IS NEEDED:

The dam was built very robustly in the late 1930’s.  With on-going inspections and maintenance it continues to be in generally excellent condition.  As part of the lake restoration project in 2001-2002, the crest of the dam was rebuilt with a concrete cap and spillway, and loose stones anywhere on the dam were re-set in special mortar.  Since then, some of the stones on the downstream face of the dam have loosened or even fallen out into the creek bed below because of freeze-thaw action and some erosion of the mortar.  It is now time to get those stones securely back in place.  The stones on the upstream face of the dam are submerged in the lake water and therefore not subject to such weathering. 

2. WHY WE NEED TO LOWER THE LAKE LEVEL

A specialty masonry restorations company from Apex will do the work in 2012.  They need about 3 consecutive days of favorable weather (dry and not too cold).  They also need the lake level to be lowered by 2 feet or more to keep water from coming over the spillway even if windy, and to lessen the hydraulic pressure.   We estimate it would take up to a week to lower the lake level by that much, assuming no significant rain.  Time to refill depends on runoff from the watershed, but with the watershed already moist as expectable, one good rainfall is enough.  We have chosen late February into March as a time to meet the mason’s needs with minimal disruption to seasonal use of the lake by LFA members.

3. HOW CAN WE ADJUST THE LEVEL?

Another part of the 2001-2002 lake restoration program was to add drain pipes (“standpipes”) and valves to facilitate draining the lake by 5½ feet, 8 feet, or completely.  Vertical 12” diameter standpipes are in place near the base of the dam to do that. Once the lake level is down to the top of the standpipe it will stabilize there. There are two reasons for the choice of 5½ feet. First, aquatic weed growth in the shallows was a severe problem before dredging, and one strategy is to lower the lake to expose the weeds to a hard freeze in January to kill them. That has not yet been necessary.  The other reason was to facilitate work on docks and bulkheads and part of the dam without having to totally drain the lake and lose the fish. The 2001 dredging was to a minimum of 5 feet water depth beginning at a certain distance from shoreline. Except for some properties on South Lakeshore Drive or where extra excavation was done at lakefronter request, the lakebed at the docks is 5 feet or less below the normal lake level. The 8 foot alternative is to permit more substantial dam repairs or work on the lakebed without losing the fish.

Any alterations to this plan, or updates, will be posted on our website and on the LFA Backyard Fence.