Army Corps Of Engineers Keeping Close Eye On Folsom Dam After Cofferdam Leak
FOLSOM LAKE (CBS13) — More than 24 hours after a leak forced construction crews to evacuate the Folsom Lake spillway, the Army Corps of Engineers is watching for more problems with another storm ready to roll in.
Crews were able to stabilize the cofferdam on Wednesday, which is part of the $900 million auxiliary spillway project at Folsom Dam, but there is still some seepage.
Engineers say the next 24 to 48 hours are critical, and they still don't know what caused Wednesday's leak. More rain could put more pressure on the cofferdam, which could potentially lead to more trouble.
"With the additional rain we'll continue to monitor and figure out, do we need to fill it? What needs to be done there? And that's something that's going to continue to be up in the air for a few days," said spokesman Tyler Stalker.
Thousands of dollars were hauled out after the leak was discovered and 25 employees were evacuated. Rocks were brought in to reinforce the cofferdam.
"I don't have any estimates on how much water leaked through. A significant portion of it came through at the very beginning stages before they stabilized it," he said.
Engineers were already planning to flood the compromised area in a few weeks, so crews could opt to complete work in the wet conditions earlier and still meet construction deadlines.
"It's certainly much easier to do it under dry conditions," he said. "It's obviously the ideal thing. The drought helped us do a lot of the work here under dry conditions but we'll adapt and we'll move forward to get the work done."
The cofferdam is still on schedule to be removed by Feb. 8, while the auxiliary spillway will be finished in late 2017.