Dam repairs on track - go to link to see video
www.abc15.com/dpp/news/region_south...ving-ahead
Work to repair dam break on Tempe Town Lake moving ahead
Posted: 08/09/2010
- TEMPE, AZ - Tedious repairs are now underway to fix the busted dam on Tempe Town Lake.
On Monday, workers started taking apart and hauling off the damaged rubberized bladders that made up the dam and can hold up to 1 billion gallons of water.
One of the four 16-foot tall rubber bladders burst July 20th, allowing hundreds of thousands of gallons of water to rush downstream into the normally dry river bed, located near Arizona State University.
Officials say fixing the dam is serious work. Each one of the 240-foot long bladders weighs 40 tons and requires a massive crane to move.
"What we've done is cut it into pieces, after we've unbolted more than 600 bolts and more than 100 anchor plates each one weighs 100 pounds," explained Kris Baxter with the City of Tempe.
These repairs will be both taxing and timely. Officials say it will take about two weeks to remove, inspect and reinstall each bladder.
"I'm happy that they're putting this back together," said M. Kameron Hawkins. He's a longtime Tempe resident and retired naval officer who grew up around this lake and is glad to see workers repairing the landmark.
"It's good for the city of Tempe, it's good for the city of Phoenix, it's good for this whole area to have a manmade lake here because the environment needs it," Hawkins explained.
City leaders are confident the lake will reopen in just a few months and this community is banking on it.
"These guys do need to have this up and running by the end of the year because there are so many things planned for our 100th birthday," Hawkins remembered.
"We started the minute that the lake emptied out with our emergency crew and we haven't stopped since," Baxter said. "This lake is going to be ready by November 1st."
Comments
I'm not so sure how to interpret the above in: 2 weeks for each bladder is eight weeks, meaning early October. Then, does "lake going to be ready by Nov 1" mean it will be *filled* by then , or ready to be filled? The other quotes - a "few"months", and "by the end of the year" are not so reassuring.
Personally, I like having a swim - I can usually gain time on most people in my AG there, as well as the run. So I've got my fingers crossed.