Study of 100-year-old dam leaves city facing choices
By Melissa Caron
A study of the Jordan’s Point dam has found significant deterioration in the century-old structure.
The dam, which is also the target of a wrongful-death lawsuit against the city, has shifted and some stones have been dislodged, allowing water to come through the wall, the engineering study found.
“There really is no question the city is going to have to address the dam at some point in terms of the structural aspects of it,” city planner Bill Blatter said.
Lexington officials asked that the study be conducted after discovering that the city owned the dam. They did not know until they began investigating the drowning of a 16-year-old local boy in April 2006 that city had been willed the dam in the 1940s, Lexington City Manager Jon Ellestad said.
Charles Volpe drowned after he was swept over the dam and was pinned at the bottom of the river by the underwater backwash the low-head dam creates, according to a lawsuit filed last month against the city by Charles’ father, Chuck Volpe.
In the lawsuit, Volpe alleges that the city had “actual and constructive knowledge” of the dangers of the dam, but was negligent in not posting warning signs near the popular swimming spot along the Maury River.
The suit claims that the city did not put up warning signs until three months after the drowning.
John W. Zunka, a Charlottesville attorney representing the city in the case, filed a response last week denying all allegations. The response argues that the city has sovereign immunity, which prevents individuals from bringing lawsuits against the government without its consent.
The document also refers to another section of Virginia Code that protects municipalities from being sued for injuries in parks, recreational areas, and playgrounds they operate.
Since his son’s death, Volpe has pushed the for dam’s removal.
While the report calls the dam unsafe, Ellestad stressed that as an engineering term, “unsafe” does not refer to any potential danger to people in the water near the dam. The term instead refers to the possibility of the dam falling down under the stress of high water levels.
The engineers from Roanoke-based Comprehensive Construction Services studied several approaches to fixing the problem. The report looks at the possibility of restoration, backfilling to create artificial rapids, and removing the dam, providing rough cost estimates for each, Ellestad said.
Backfilling would stop the underwater hydraulic force, but could cost nearly $900,000. A complete restoration could run to millions of dollars, Ellestad said.
Removing the dam could cost more than $250,000, depending on the condition of silt built up behind the dam wall and other factors, Ellestad said. But the city could qualify for grant money for removal, he said.
Blatter says that while the dam has no contemporary purpose, some residents oppose its removal for aesthetic reasons. They like the flat and deep water the dam creates upstream. Before making a decision, he says, city officials will hold community meetings to allow residents to be heard.
Ellestad says he will ask members of Lexington City Council tonight (Oct. 4) to set a date to present the study’s findings. Council members have not been given the study report. Engineers are still working on an addendum to the study to answer remaining questions city officials raised. And it might still be some time before council members make a decision.
“This is just the start into our investigation of what to do with the dam,” Ellestad said. “Ultimately, we have to do something.”
Kaine signed dam safety bill in March
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Lead supervisor: Prof. Claudette Artwick
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Technical supervisor: Michael Todd