Corps plan aims to reduce time lake at high-water level

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plans changes in the operation of Beaver Lake and its dam to reduce the time the reservoir is at a high-water level.

Beaver Dam Interim Risk Reduction Measures increase the time the lake is at or near the top of conservation pool at 1,120 feet above sea level, which many people consider a normal lake level. Water will be released more quickly to reduce the time the lake is at or near 1,130 feet above sea level, which is the top of flood pool.

The measures reduce the chance the lake could rise high enough that floodwater could flow over the dam’s spillway gates, causing major flooding downstream.

Releasing water more quickly means the lake will spend more time at conservation pool and less time at flood pool, according to a news release from the Corps’ Little Rock District. A dropin public workshop will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Jan. 24 at the Rogers City Hall community room for people to get information and ask questions about the Beaver Dam Interim Risk Reduction Measures.

A corps website devoted to the measures can be viewed at www.beaverlakedam-irrm. com and has information and a seven-minute audio-visual presentation.

Jay Townsend, chief of public affairs at the corps’ Little Rock office, said the agency wants to emphasize the dam is in good condition and operating as intended.

No repairs are scheduled on the dam itself but work will start soon to repair one of the dam’s two hydroelectric generators that has been offline since 2016, Townsend said.

The work involves rewiring the generator. When that is complete, the dam’s other generator will be rewired as a maintenance measure. Work on both generators could take a few years, he said.

Beaver Lake water is released through the dam and turns the two generators to produce electricity.

Water has periodically been released through one or more spillway gates equal to the volume of water that would pass through the generator that has been offline.

Lowering the lake more quickly is beneficial for the 55-year-old dam, Townsend said.

If the lake is already in flood pool and another major rain event happens, water could rise high enough to reach the machinery that opens and closes the dam’s seven spillway gates. This and possible flooding downstream are “recently identified dam safety issues at Beaver Dam,” the corps’ news release states.

During a flood event in May 2018, water nearly reached the spillway machinery.

After heavy rain, Beaver Lake crested at 1,132 feet above sea level, just a foot below the spillway machinery, according to the website’s audio presentation. Lowering the lake level faster reduces the likelihood of such an event.

The risk reduction measures at Beaver Lake will affect the levels of Table Rock and Bull Shoals lakes as water is moved through the White River system, according to the corps.

Table Rock and Bull Shoals lakes are downstream from Beaver Dam. The measures also will make it easier for the corps to maintain a proper level in the White River as it flows through eastern Arkansas, the release says.

Information workshops are scheduled at Branson, Mo., Mountain Home and Jacksonport.