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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Sept. 23, 1998
98-167
Contacts: Doug Johnson, Dam Safety Program, (360) 407-6623
Ron Langley, Public Information, (425) 649-7009
OLYMPIA - Homeowners living below the Tahuya Lake Dam in southwest Kitsap County have been warned that they are at risk from potential failure of the dam until its owners make safety improvements required by the Washington State Department of Ecology.
"We're concerned that Tahuya Lake Dam could fail if we experience unusually heavy rainfall this winter," said Doug Johnson, the supervising engineer for Ecology's Dam Safety Office. "The likelihood of an actual failure of the dam is remote, but the current level of risk is just too great for the people living below it."
Information from Ecology and the Mason County Department of Emergency Services was sent to affected homeowners this week. It outlines the county's plan to create a list of people who want to be notified if a problem develops at the dam. In addition, residents have been invited to an informational meeting at 7:30 p.m., Friday, Oct. 9, at the North Mason High School gymnasium in Belfair on State Highway 3.
Homeowners around the lake own the dam which, when constructed in 1961, was classified as low-risk because no homes existed below it. During a recent survey of low-risk dams, Ecology inspectors discovered that many homes have since been built in the Tahuya River floodplain, and hundreds of homes are in the surrounding area.
Johnson said the dam can safely handle only a 100-year flood, which is a flood created by a lengthy period of heavy rainfall that has one chance in 100 of occurring in any given year. Any larger flood would spill over the dam and erode its downstream face, likely leading to a failure. Ecology is requiring the dam's owners to equip the dam to handle a much larger flood and to work with the county on the emergency warning system. The upgrades must be complete within two years, but the warning system will be ready before the rainy season this fall.
The warning system will be added to a network operated by the Mason County Department of Emergency Services. "We already monitor a dozen small dams in Kitsap and Mason counties," said department director Joe Murray. "If a problem develops at Tahuya Lake Dam, we can warn the folks down below very quickly."
Editors: Joe Murray, Director, Mason County Dept. of Emergency Services (360) 427-7535
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
