Lake Emma Dam needs replacement plan, inspector says

An inspection of the Lake Emma Dam last November states that a replacement strategy for the spillway should be initiated immediately, said Charles Lyon, Presque Isle County?s drain commissioner.

Lyon appeared before members of the Presque Isle County Board of Commissioners March 30 and brought up the issue during his 2006 annual report to the board.

?The water level is about where it is supposed to be,? said Lyon, ?But there is no way to lower the water level. Consequently, it is of utmost concern to my office.?

The inspection states that ?The structure is nearing the end of its useful life and a replacement strategy should be started.? Lake Emma?s level is maintained by the dam located at the outlet which forms one of the main branches of the upper Ocqueoc River.

The 1997 inspection gave it a ?very poor condition? rating, with a note suggesting the control structure be replaced. People have been placing and removing their own obstructions for many years, to control the water level.

?IT IS GOING to have to be paid for and it is going to be very costly,? said Lyon. An assessment district was never established, he said, although it was recommended at the time o

f construction. Lyon said there is no apparent record of any easements being granted. A five-point plan was established last spring by the drain commissioner.

It includes conducting a public meeting with the 15 to 16 property owners; obtaining a consensus of the property owners for the construction of a new spillway and future dam maintenance; establish legal easements and an assessment district; and obtain the necessary funds to begin the planning for and construction of a new spillway.

A meeting was cancelled last year when the county board declined to appoint him as the delegated authority.

The inspection will go to the Department of Environmental Quality to be looked at by dam safety engineers when they are called back from lay off.