Heard from a pretty reliable source that repairs on Dunlap Dam will begin soon and should be finished by 2021. Same guy (lives on Placid) said they have an injunction with the court, and none of the other lakes will be drained. Hope he's accurate, if so a little bit of good news.

Dunlap property owners have proposed a property tax and partnership with GBRA. That is the first step. All that has to be approved by the court, GBRA board, and a vote of the property owners, and maybe the state legislature. What I saw on the news a couple of days ago says it will be more like 5 years down the road. They will have to collect several years of taxes to raise enough money to start construction. GBRA is paying only for engineering.

Do you mean it is going to be 5 years before they begin work or it will take 5 years to rebuild? It only took 5 years to build the Hoover dam.

Till the lake is back full of water. IF everything goes according to plan.

Plus #1.


Side Note: I have heard also that all of the remaining dams need to be improved and that "Danger Zones" are going to be placed on all the river lakes! As stated above with court hearings,engineering inspections,and other legal issues it will be a minimal of 5 years to complete the project . This is providing that all of the legal issues can be resolved and the dams can all be repaired. If not the river lakes will all be drained sometime next year.

So while everyone haggles over what they are going to do, the dams that remain are still a ticking time bomb?

This is incorrect. The danger is the 12-14' spillway gates that are located on top of the dams. Dunlap failed with no damage or loss of life and it is the largest of all the river lakes. Dunlap is also the first lake (farthest upstream). It took 4-5 hours for Dunlap to drain to its current level. GBRA wants everyone to believe they are ticking time bombs but in reality, they are not. It is possible someone can get hurt if swept downstream but there are real world ways of mitigating those risks. Examples include closing the lakes to swimming and boating etc. This keeps the trees and ecosystem in tact while mitigating risk and awaiting repairs.

There are two different engineering teams assessing the remaining dams now. One team is hired by the homeowners and the other by GBRA. Both will then meet and discuss recommendations. If they cannot agree, a third engineering firm, agreed on by both parties, will be brought in to make a decision.

Regardless, this is all because a state agency decided to not take care of its assets. GBRA and the state are to blame for all of this mess.

I think the "danger zones" will be an area around the spillways.

I think you are right!