City crews responding to leakage at Sanborn Lake dam
Released:May 27, 2016
MEDIA RELEASE
(STILLWATER, OKLAHOMA / May 27, 2016) – The City of Stillwater is responding to damage to the dam on the south side of Sanborn Lake. It appears that an animal has burrowed a hole through the dam. Recent rains have caused the lake level to rise and water is flowing through the hole. The dam was inspected by engineers this morning, and it has been determined that the hole does not create any imminent danger. However, if water continues to flow through the hole, it is possible that erosion could occur and further damage the dam.
With rainfall predicted in the next week, City crews are at the lake with equipment and pumps lowering the lake level to keep water from flowing through the hole.
Crews are also in the process of removing a beaver dam to make use of the designated spillway. The spillway allows water to be safely and naturally (with no human action necessary) released from the lake to the stream bed below and on to NRCS flood control facility just downstream of Sanborn Lake known as Stillwater Creek Site 28 (Natural Resources Conservation Service Site 28). The NRCS flood control structure Site 28 will release the extra water from Sanborn Lake at a controlled rate. Residents downstream from NRCS Site 28 may notice an increase in flow.
As a precaution, residents along the creek downstream of both Sanborn Lake and the NRCS flood control facility are advised to be aware of this situation. At this time, this situation is not an emergency. The City is taking proactive steps that are intended to prevent an emergency from occurring and will continue to monitor the situation until a solution can be put into place.
Residents can find updates on Stillwater Emergency Management’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/StwSema/, or on Twitter with the handle @cos_ok_sema at https://twitter.com/cos_ok_sema.
Updates will also be posted to the news page at stillwater.org.
For more information on responding to a potential flood, go to https://www.ready.gov/floods.
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For media inquiries, contact the Office of Marketing and Public Relations at 405.742.8362 or email news@stillwater.org
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