Leaky Lake Could Cost Millions To Fix

AVON, Colo. (CBS4) - A leaky lake in Colorado's high country could cost more than $1 million to fix.

Nottingham Lake in the middle of the town of Avon sprang a leak some time over the summer. A temporary fix has been installed, but a permanent solution may be necessary.

"The difference appeared in September because there was no runoff water and the level of the lake definitely went down. But we kind of rejoiced because we thought we had beach property," said Avon resident Kathy Ryan.

The water level sits about 7 feet below where it normally is at this time of the year. A dive team was brought in to try to find the leak in the 15 acre lake.

"Unfortunately they weren't able to find it, it's not a large lake, but it wasn't obvious as to where the hole was," said Jaime Walker, Community Relations Officer for the Town of Avon.

The leak wasn't found until a fisherman spotted a leaf twirling off the fishing dock. He knew about the town's problem so he sent them an email and after a little bit of detective work, they found the hole.

"Engineers put an expanding material, an expanding foam material and so far that seems to be holding," said Walker.

So far, that's just a quick fix. Town engineers believe that the lake liner may be failing, which is a much more expensive problem.

"It's very important that it gets restored because it's the center of the town, so to speak," said Avon resident Larry Olson.

A new lake liner would cost up to $1.5 million. That's money that the town doesn't have.

If the leak doesn't hold, the town council will have to decide if it can afford to replace the lake liner. For right now, they're refilling the lake to test the leak and to let the lake freeze in time for ice skating.