Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, September 8, 1995 TAG: 9509080058
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: NORTON LENGTH: Medium
A representative of the company that discovered the saturation during tests earlier this year said it is the worst case he has seen. The tests were made in preparation for widening the spillway and increasing the amount of water in the upper of two reservoirs on High Knob mountain. The 78-foot-high dam separates the two reservoirs.
City Manager E.W. Ward, who was notified of the problem in August, told council this week he is not trying to alarm people, but he wants to make them aware of the situation.
``We don't consider it a very dangerous situation today,'' Ward said. But he said the problem needs to be fixed by the time the rainy season arrives in late October and early November.
The reservoir holds a maximum of 66 million gallons, Ward said. It now has about 20 million gallons. If the dam were to fail, he said, most of downtown Norton, a city of about 4,200, would be flooded.
Pat Murphy of the engineering firm of Thompson & Litton told council it would cost $206,900 to stabilize the dam and install a 2-foot-thick sand drainage blanket to help the water flow from the reservoir.
The work would be completed in early November, he said.
Ward said he has talked to the Army Corps of Engineers and the federal Rural Economic and Community Development Authority about possible funding.
Steve Conner of Schnabel Engineering Associates of Blacksburg said the situation is the most severe he has seen. He said it is normal for saturation to occur on similar types of dams, but not to the degree of the upper reservoir's dam.
by CNB