It was only this past winter that the Seven Lakes Landowners Association [SLLA] was rushing to complete valve repairs on Lake Echo in time for early Spring rains to refill the lake — rains that proved unequal to the task.
Little did the board know, as they paid the hefty sum to pump water from Lake Sequoia into Lake Echo in March, that Mother Nature was planning a continuous deluge during month of June.
Seven Lakes' 2013 monsoon season has continued into July with a daily chance of thunderstorms. For the first time in recent memory, the lakes have been as much as six to eight inches over full pond.
During their Monday, July 15 work session the SLLA Board discussed issues raised by the full-to-the-brim lakes. Recognizing that the discussion would benefit from professional advice, they tabled several items until the following night, during a special meeting (scheduled to discuss bylaws). The day's delay would give SLLA management and the Lakes and Dam Committee time to seek recommendations.
Ramapo overflow pipe needs work
SLLA Manager Ray Sohl reported that a recent engineering study found that one of the outlet pipes on Lake Ramapo dam had failed. The engineer reported to Sohl that the three drain pipes that are still working are not sufficient to lower the water level at the recommended rate.
The engineer recommended a thorough structural assessment of Ramapo; and a repair proposal would then be presented to the NC Dam Safety Office with a request that the dam be released from the state’s jurisdiction for necessary repairs.
“The engineer would provide a cost option to repair the overflow systems or to redesign the overflow with a siphon installed for drainage,” Sohl said.
The Dam Safety office of the NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources has jurisdiction over dams.
“Releasing the dam from the state’s jurisdiction for repairs would be ideal.” Sohl said. “The cost should be infinitely less to design it and repair it.”
Sohl reminded the Board that, during the repair of Little Juniper Dam, “the state required an engineer at $50 per hour to be on site.”
Cost versus need
The engineering assessment, proposal for repairs, and request for state clearance is estimated to cost $17,152.
Board Members questioned whether the repair was even necessary at all.
Weighing the odds of continued heavy rainfall against the cost of repairing the pipe, Director Bob Darr said, “Every week to ten days, we are pumping to fill it [Ramapo Lake]. We haven’t had this kind of problem before, because we haven’t had this kind of rainfall. We are looking thousands of dollars to do this -- to correct a problem we have not had, in my estimation, in thirteen years. I don’t understand spending this kind of money on a situation we can take of ourselves.”
In order to more quickly release water from Ramapo, the pump used to add water to the lake was reversed to pump water out of the lake.
“Water is running out of it right now and is bringing the lake back to level,” Director Rich Faraci reported.
Until the recent rainfall the lake level in Ramapo has always held several inches or more below full pond, with water continuously being pumped into the lake.
Resident Chuck Stephenson said during the Monday work session, “I have been living here 16 years and that area has always been wet. It never dries up and it never stops leaking. That dam leaks all the time. That’s why you have to pump water back up to it. It just leaks all the time.”
Sohl agreed: “Earthen dams always leak. What you have to look for are seep areas down below. When leaks develop, channels cut through and get larger over time. You have to watch what happens downstream. When seep areas start to grow you have to address them.”
“Here is my question,” President Steve Ritter said. “When the water level is at its normal level, is it below the level of that overflow pipe? If not, and you have the water seepage going, could that cause catastrophic failure?”
“The normal pool level sits right flush at the bottom of the pipe and flows along the bottom of that pipe,” Sohl said.
The Board agreed that, with the water levels on Lake Ramapo subsiding, immediate action is not critical, but the collapsed pipe would have to be addressed in the future. Once the Board decides on a course of action, they will have the engineer contact the state.
More Rain-Related Problems -- How to Deal with Overfull Lakes
A less easy fix is deciding the lake level that should trigger a no-wake rule over the entire lake. Lake Echo is currently more than five inches over full pond. Wake action caused by speed boats is putting some lakefront residents’ bulkheads and docks at risk.
Enforcing a no wake policy during the prime Summer boating season has proven unpopular with several residents.
“There have been a lot of issues lately, especially concerning the lakes and rain,” Director Faraci reported. “We need to take another look at the approved four-and-one-half-inch level: it’s not working.” The Board had previously agreed that 4.5 inches above full pond could trigger the no-wake rule.
Some residents have expressed their concern that the full lakes could cause structural harm to the dam.
“The lakes are six inches over full,” said Ritter. “The extra amount of water in the lakes gets turned up by speed boats and can cause issues to bulkheads due to wake action. To me, it is normal wear and tear. The biggest issue: what is it doing to that dam? Have we gone to our engineering firm and asked the question to them: What are we doing to our dams, if the lake is six inches high and we allow waves from speed boats?”
After much deliberation and input from the audience during Monday's work session, the Board decided to refer the question to an engineer.
No Threat to the Dams
During Tuesday night's special meeting, Manager Sohl reported that the engineer had assured him that, as long as water was not breeching the dam, then no structural damage was being caused to the dam.
However, several lakefront residents had reported that the high wake levels were causing damage to low-lying bulkheads and docks, prompting a Board discussion on the appropriate level to trigger the no wake rule.
Ritter asked Director Conrad Meyer, who lives on the lake, his opinion of an appropriate level.
“In my opinion the three-inch level is too low a number, and it could be more like five or six,” Meyer replied. “It is difficult to know where to draw the line. I would draw it there personally, but it is based only on my opinion.”
“There are several types of bulkheads, and they were built at different times," Ritter said. "It is the same for docks. Some are high and some are low. Since we know that the high wake level is not damaging the dam, we should kick it back to Dams and Lake Committee to review. I am finding myself agreeing with what you [Conrad Meyer] just said.”
“I grew up on the Northern New Jersey Shore," Director Chuck Leach said. "We had a dock where ice came up on it in the winter and damaged it. We were responsible for it. Where is the responsibility for people that live on lakefront property?”
“I don’t believe it is fair to restrict their fair use of lake if it is not damaging the dam," Director Bill Hirsch said. "I find myself having less sympathy to people that didn’t build theirs high enough. We might want to have rules give a recommended height.”
Meyer agreed; “There some logic in that. If someone is building on a lot today he should take a look at what height his bulkhead should be. Knowing what I know now, I would put it as high as I can.”
Regardless of the decision, it will be impossible to please everyone, Faraci said.
“You can kick that back to the Lakes and Dams Committee, but it will not stop all the complaints," he warned.
"It’s imperative for us to look at as many things from different directions that we can and come to a fair compromise,” Ritter said, forwarding the matter to the Lakes & Dams Committee.
Drainage along Seven Lakes Drive
Rain has also been responsible for flooding problems along Seven Lakes Drive. "When we met with the County," Ritter said, "they indicated that there were some issues caused by berms and split rail fences along the highways.”
Sohl suggested the matter should be discussed in closed session due to referencing specific residences.
There has also been considerable flooding near the North Gate exit lane. Ritter said the flooding could be resolved by redirecting water. “It is an easy fix.”
