Program Manager Ohio Department of Natural Resources
Abstract Description: For the 20th anniversary of the Salt Fork Lake Dam incident, Ohio’s Dam Safety Program would like to feature the evaluation, design, construction, and observation of one of the most serious dam safety emergencies in the program’s history.
Salt Fork Lake Dam, a 61-foot-tall dam owned by Ohio’s Department of Natural Resources (ODNR), was constructed in 1968 on a 100-foot-thick natural deposit of silty sand in eastern Ohio. The dam impounds a beautiful 3010-acre lake in Ohio’s largest state park. Salt Fork Lake Dam is a high hazard dam, based on its size and potential downstream hazard. Hazards include Interstate highway 77 located directly downstream, as well as approximately 500 people between the dam and Wills Creek Dam, a United States Army Corps of Engineers flood control structure.
On February 15, 2005, the Ohio Dam Safety Program received a call from the maintenance manager for Salt Fork State Park stating that a large seepage boil was noted at the downstream toe. This presentation will focus on the full story of the dam, including the initial response, interim remedial measures, analysis and design plans for the new toe drain, project construction, and lessons learned throughout the process. Highlighted throughout the presentation will be the process of regulating small dams throughout the state of Ohio.
Learning Objectives:
Define the 2005 emergency incident at Salt Fork Lake Dam.
Learn interim remedial measures and response to boils and seepage during an emergency situation.
Better understand the process of small dam regulation throughout the state of Ohio.
