Engineers say Lewisville Dam is secure, despite issues
The Army Corps of Engineers is working to reassure North Texans that the Lewisville Dam is secure, despite some admitted safety issues.
The dam has two issues right now -- a slide, which is set to be repaired next month, and seepage, which will require a long-term solution.
A surveillance team spotted the 161-foot slide on the upstream face of the embankment during the May and June floods, but the public only recently became aware of it after a news report.
The Corps says it did not notify the public because these types of slides are relatively routine, but it will take $6.5 million to repair it. That work is set to begin next month.
The more critical issue is the seepage on the downstream side of the dam. Water is essentially leaking underneath the dam.
The Corps says it is monitoring the seepage every day to make sure it does not turn into a larger issue.
The seepage started occurring in the ‘70s, but the Corps says it did get worse with the record lake levels this spring.
The lake is the highest it has ever been right now, and the Corps insists that it is closely monitoring the effects of that.