LATE UPDATE: Now the final test has moved to 10am Thursday Morning. Just received updated emails from GA Safe Dams. They had a small problem with plug removal… nothing of a serious nature, just a delay.
On Friday April 18, after weeks of complete silence, Big Canoe POA eblasted an update on the initial LLO test. In the email they promised in regards to this next more critical test that, “The POA will inform the community before the test begins”.
On Monday morning April 21 at 9:07am, GA Safe Dams was notified in an email that the 2nd and final test would be Wednesday morning, saying, “They are planning to perform the LLO test without the plug in place on Wednesday morning.”
It’s late Tuesday night April 22, and no updates to the Community from the POA, so FOBC figured it would inform the community. So.. as of the Open Records Response I received as of this afternoon from GA Safe Dams… the final test of the LLO is on for sometime Wednesday Morning, April 23.
Quick Overview of the Test: They will open the LLO Gate that is at the bottom of Lake Petit, and water will pour through the 30″ pipe at high pressure, travel through the center of the Dam, and exit at the LLO Outfall (that big Concrete structure in the trench beside the Ballfield.) This will be the 1st time in the entire life of the Dam, 53 years, that any water has traveled through that pipe – even though LEGALLY that was supposed to have occured every single year through a mandatory test.
In the 1974 Law Engineering Report pointed out that they had never reached bedrock (as planned in designs) when laying the LLO Pipe from the bottom of the lake bed through to the other side, and for this reason they concluded:
“It is possible that cracks in the low level outlet pipe can occur due to settlement of the dam. If cracks develop in the low level outlet, piping can occur from these cracks. Therefore, we recommend monitoring of the low level outlet due to the settlement of the dam, both for vertical movement of the pipe and visual observation to determine that there is no flow of water through the low level outlet…….We suggest that inspection of the … low level outlet be made … annually “
This concern is from 51 years ago. Surely no settling has occured in that 51 years since… right?
This is all I am going to say… #1, I hope that the test passes, because if it doesn’t that would be bad. I think the odds are that things will go fine. #2, after water roars through these old pipes, I believe that the Big Canoe POA / Geosyntec should spring for a camera inspection of the pipes. I am told by one of the most preeimmenent people in the field that this would be the normal and prudent thing to do, and that the cost would be very low, less than $10,000.
I don’t think we should move on to the next phase of $10 Million++ until we do our due diligence to make sure no shifting inside the pipe occurs due to the upcoming test.
The main concern I have is that Scott Auer has already refused to show anyone (including GA Safe Dams) the Camera Inspections from 2020. He then proceeded to lie and exagerate about the condition of the pipes that was discovered through that inspection. If those pipes are anything less than perfectly aligned before this upcoming test… they could be jarred even further – and considering how much money is being spent… $10K seems rather trivial to make sure we’re good to proceed further.
That’s my two cents. Fingers crossed for no problems during the final LLO Gate Test tommorrow. Sorry… I do not have an exact time… and the “Powers That Be” that have that information either plan on not sharing it as promised, or waiting till the last second.
Peace,
– david / publisher / property owner
Focus on Big Canoe, GA
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