Dams around Georgia will be studied for compliance issues

<p>More than 100 watershed lakes around Georgia will be studied because they have dams that are considered hazardous because they no longer meet requirements of the state's safe dams program.</p><p>The Natural Resource Conservation Service is beginning the studies of 143 watershed lakes that were built by the federal government.</p><p>The agency estimates it will cost $85 million to conduct the studies and to make improvements to the dams in the next few years, said Bill White, safe dam coordinator for the Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission in Athens.</p><p>The federal government will pay 65 percent of the improvement costs. The state, and possibly local governments, will be asked to participate.</p><p>All the dams on the watershed lakes are safe, White said. But they are not in compliance because homes or other structures have been built downstream.</p><p>One of the lakes that will be looked at is north of Hamilton. Palmetto Creek Watershed Lake No. 1 is 12 to 15 acres and is one of three lakes built in the area in 1960 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Soil Conservation Service to provide flood control. The other two lakes meet state requirements.</p><p>But all three lakes are considered safe, White said.</p><p>"These dams were built to hold a massive amount of water," said Lewis Fokes, Natural Resource Conservation Service district conservationist. "Palmetto No. 1 is a massive dam. It's got eyes on it fairly frequently as a matter of routine."</p><p>Most of the watershed lakes that will be studied are in north Georgia.</p><p>___</p><p>HASH(0x28666c0)</p>