ROGERS, Ark. — The U.S. Army Corp of Engineers is working to reduce the risk of catastrophic failure if water levels were to drastically rise here at Beaver Lake.
“We're addressing the known risk steps we're taking, with three operational adjustments to how we manage floodwaters out of Beaver Lake that we did public meetings on a couple of years ago,” says Nathaniel Keen, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Water Management Chief of Water Control.
In 2017, the corps of engineers recognized in certain flooding situations water could get into some machinery at the dam.
According to King, this could pose many risks, as it would make the dam vulnerable and could make machinery inoperable. The corps is implementing Interim Risk Reduction Methods to keep machinery safe.
The corps says they have made some operational changes since.
“We have changed how we finish the operation right after a large flood release. We're releasing water through the turbines downstream, but it's flood water we're releasing. We're increasing the number of hours in a given day that we do that if the downstream lakes are able to handle it,” Keen tells us.
As of today, there is no serious risk, says Keen, but with recent storms they want to mitigate it as best as they can.
“When you're not able to make releases because of downstream conditions, you could get water in some of the machinery and have your gates stuck in an open position. Or you get your gate stuck in a closed position, and you have water go up over the top of the dam and over equipment,” Keen explains.
To prevent this from happening, the Corps of Engineers needs the public's input.
“When making a change to a water management plan, even if it's interim… there can be unintended consequences, and public comments are very good about identifying consequences that hadn't been thought about before,” Keen says.
The goal of this is to improve safety for people who live downstream of beaver lake, according to Keen.
The public comment period begins July 19 through Aug. 19, 2023. Comments may be submitted online or by mail to:
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers ATTN: Environmental Branch
Regional Planning and Environmental Center
2000 Fort Point
Galveston, Texas
77550
All comments must be postmarked by Aug. 19.
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