Lake Livingston Dam Repair Substantially Complete

Livingston, Texas-The repair to the upstream slope protection, or large rock surface called rip rap, on the northern face of Lake Livingston Dam is substantially complete, ahead of schedule.  The original projected date for substantial completion was June 15, 2006.            

This will allow the Trinity River Authority of Texas to begin impounding water above elevation 127 feet mean sea level (msl).  TRA held the lake at this level for the repair.  How long it will take to restore the lake to its normal elevation of 131 feet msl will be determined by rainfall and runoff in the 16,580 square miles of the Trinity River watershed upstream of the dam.

TRA General Manager, Danny F. Vance said, “We sustained some of the most severe and extensive damage that has ever been witnessed on the upstream slope of a structure like Lake Livingston Dam.  Being in a position to capture rainfall from runoff this early in the normally wet spring season,” he continued, “ may enable us to restore the lake level in advance of summer.”

On September 23, winds on the back side of Hurricane Rita produced a storm surge and waves that stripped the rip rap, or large rock protective covering, from approximately 11,000 feet of the approximately 13,700 foot long earthen embankment.  When the damage was discovered in the middle of the storm, TRA immediately implemented its state certified emergency action plan and began to lower the lake level at the peak rate of 80,000 cubic feet per second, in order to minimize further damage.

The repair was a logistics challenge for the prime contractor, Archer Western Contractors, Ltd. The task involved the movement of 72,215 tons of 32-inch rock in 3,183 truckloads, and 15,808 tons of 8-inch bedding rock in 687 truckloads.  The rock was mined from a quarry in Navarro County near Corsicana.

Full completion of the repair calls for the restoration of the single lane roadway on the top of the structure.  The original roadway was destroyed by the heavy equipment and rock trucks used to replace the rip rap.  It should take approximately one month to complete this work and will not require a lowered lake level.

Lake Livingston represents approximately 72 percent of the city of Houston’s available water supplies. The city has continued to use water from the lake during construction and will increase the volume used as the hot, dry summer conditions take hold.

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