Work Halts on Shaky Wolf Creek Dam

Construction work on the most vulnerable part of Wolf Creek Dam has been suspended because of slight movement in the structure.

Kentucky’s Wolf Creek Dam is upstream from Nashville on the Cumberland River. The leakiest part is where the earthen embankment meets the concrete structure. The Corps of Engineers is pumping grout into underground cracks and caves created by seepage from Lake Cumberland.

Project manager David Hendrix says a system of monitors warned of slight shifting underground.

“We want to make sure that what we’re doing is not 1. causing the problem, or 2. exacerbating the problem.”

Hendrix says it will take four to six weeks to figure out what caused the movement, but he says the suspension of work should not be cause for alarm.

“We’re not at an imminent failure situation. It’s precautionary and we’re going to take some time to evaluate all the information that we have.”

Work halted last summer for a similar reason.

The Corps is more than halfway through a six year project to shore up Wolf Creek Dam. If it were to fail, major flooding is expected as far downstream as Nashville.

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