Repair Progressing on Lake Livingston Dam
28% of 11,000-foot damaged portion of the embankment repaired as of late February
 

Livingston- Early in January, the Trinity River Authority gave the go-ahead to Archer Western Contractors, Ltd. to begin making repairs to Lake Livingston Dam which was severely damaged by Hurricane Rita.  As of mid-February, 28% of the 11,000-foot damaged portion of the embankment has been repaired, starting with priority areas, or those areas that were most severely damaged during the storm.

Repair of the dam will require 25,000 tons of eight-inch crushed rock bedding material and 72,000 tons of 32-inch limestone rip rap to replace the 11,000 linear feet of upstream slope protection that was stripped away by hurricane generated wave action.

Truckloads of rock began arriving during the week of January 8 and have been shipped to the dam at the rate of approximately 1,000 tons, or about 50 truckloads, per day. As of mid-February, nearly 700 truckloads of 32” diameter riprap had been delivered to the dam.

The materials are unloaded on the western end of the dam’s embankment and repair work will proceed from the west end to the east end now that repairs to the priority areas are complete.

The water level in Lake Livingston was lowered to four feet below the normal pool elevation of 131 feet above mean sea level during Hurricane Rita to protect the integrity of the dam.  The

lake will be held at 127 msl until the repair is substantially complete.  At that time, the lake will be allowed to refill to 131 msl as the result of rainfall in the 15,000 square miles of the Trinity River watershed upstream of Lake Livingston Dam.

The contractor has projected that the repair effort will take 160 calendar days to substantial completion, and 200 days to full completion.  Unforeseen events, such as extended periods of rainy weather could delay substantial completion beyond the projected number of days.

The lowered lake level is hampering recreational use of Lake Livingston. Most of the boat docks and ramps are some distance from the waters edge making launching a boat in most areas difficult, if not impossible.  However, the following ramps are open and functional as of this date:

§         Lake Livingston State Park;

§         Beacon Bay in South Polk County;

§         Lakeside RV in Onalaska

§         Riverside Ramp at Riverside;

§         Browders 3278 Marina (smaller boats only)

Another issue caused by the lower level of water in the lake is safety and avoidance of submerged hazards. All boaters must be aware of the depth of water in which they are operating and be attentive to obstacles that may be just inches below the surface at 127 feet msl.

For more information contact John Jadrosich or Debbie Bronson at (817) 467-4343