[Betain]

Buckeye lake doesn't serve any flood control purposes. Another reason why certain people don't think it's worth the money

Correct this along with I believe Grand Lake St Marys where both built to support the canal system that is no longer used. Both where pretty much swamps before they where flooded. I know Cranberry Bog is special but in reality it was pretty much man made, the Bog would probably still be a swamp today if we did not flood it to make a lake, I am sure its supporters will put up a fight though.

Still does not mean these two lakes are not important to the local economy around them, they have been for a while. Unfortunately Grand Lake St Mary has had its own problems for a while which have really hurt the economy around it. Not as bad as having to drain the lake but almost, if this was to happen all one would have to do is talk to people out by Grand Lake to get a better idea of what could happen to the communities around Buckeye if it was to be drained even if it is only for a couple of years. I really cant see them fixing a 4.1 mile long dam with peoples homes on it in one year.

 

[oldgofaster]

"Breaking News from 2012.." Huh, the ODNR(Zehringer), had a plan and knew the dangers 3 years ago, and did...what?

If you haven't looked at the Corps report, 128 pages, at least download it and look at the pictures, very interesting. I was there once, but not near the dam. The sink holes seem to indicate voids in the embankment.

....as a homeowner at GLSM, I feel their pain.
The State has known about the degrading conditions at GLSM since the '70s and now our beaches have huge warning signs, "Toxic - No Contact" for the past 6 years.

Our Rep, Mr. Buchy is telling people that boating and fishing are better, so the lake must be better. Ohio taxpayers dredge the same channels over and over, every 6 or 7 years they have 4' or so of "new" silt. Millions and millions of dollars.

Our homes are not eligible for Fanny Mae loans, only Freddie Mac. Very restrictive.

I wouldn't expect a quick solution. Cheap - Good - Fast, Pick only two.

 

[Mushijobah]

MORE NEWS (FRIDAY, MARCH 13, 2015 06:25 AM):

http://www.dispatch.com/content/sto...es/local/2015/03/13/state-appears-ready-to-fix-dangers-built-into-aged-dam.html

 

[shwookie]

MORE NEWS (FRIDAY, MARCH 13, 2015 06:25 AM):

http://www.dispatch.com/content/sto...es/local/2015/03/13/state-appears-ready-to-fix-dangers-built-into-aged-dam.html

But the Corps didn’t just discover many of these problems. The homes have been there for decades, and the dam’s deficiencies have been known for nearly as long.

This is one reason I am having a hard time being to sympathetic to these people.

The more I hear about this, the less sense it makes.

This whole thing is a mess and whomever started the idea of building homes on a125 year(?) old earthen dam should be dug up and shot.

 

[percidaeben]

If they drain it you would think that farmers from all over would come and get their top soil back.

 

[FOSR]

This whole thing is a mess and whomever started the idea of building homes on a125 year(?) old earthen dam should be dug up and shot.

You're baiting the Zombie Apocalypse. Seriously, though, is there any other example of selling space on a dam as property, and digging homes into it?

 

[USMC_Galloway]

Who should pay for the replacement dam if/once the construction starts.

Should this be a local bill, like an increase to property tax or something, since property values is one of the complaints that keep popping up, let the ones who get the most benefit out of the lake being there pay for it.

Or maybe money from ODNR from fishing licences and such. Boaters from all around get a lot of use from the lake, from recreational to fishing tournaments.

Or should this be something where fellow Ohioans help our other fellow Ohioans, and have a state wide tax increase till this is payed off?

 

[Bad Bub]

Another thing that is becoming apparent in these threads is that people are likening the Buckeye dam to more common dams found on our lakes. The buckeye dam isn't just a couple hundred feet of dirt and rocks piled a hundred feet high between 2 hills like say salt fork or seneca. To wonder why someone would build a house on one of those dams is completely understandable. But by looking at buckeye ' dam, which is basically the entire northern shoreline, it's pretty easy to see why hundreds of people thought it was nothing more than fabricated prime real estate at the time. Hind sight is obviously 20/20 in this case, but it doesn't excuse the fact that something drastic now has to take place to fix it, before something drastic happens to destroy it.

 

[Bad Bub]

Who should pay for the replacement dam if/once the construction starts.

Should this be a local bill, like an increase to property tax or something, since property values is one of the complaints that keep popping up, let the ones who get the most benefit out of the lake being there pay for it.

Or maybe money from ODNR from fishing licences and such. Boaters from all around get a lot of use from the lake, from recreational to fishing tournaments.

Or should this be something where fellow Ohioans help our other fellow Ohioans, and have a state wide tax increase till this is payed off?

I highly doubt it will stay localized, and have some doubt the fellow Ohioans will foot the bill in a statewide tax. I'd say you might see a fishing license price increase before it ever goes to a statewide tax...

Maybe boat registrations?

 

[shwookie]

Another thing that is becoming apparent in these threads is that people are likening the Buckeye dam to more common dams found on our lakes. The buckeye dam isn't just a couple hundred feet of dirt and rocks piled a hundred feet high between 2 hills like say salt fork or seneca. To wonder why someone would build a house on one of those dams is completely understandable. But by looking at buckeye ' dam, which is basically the entire northern shoreline, it's pretty easy to see why hundreds of people thought it was nothing more than fabricated prime real estate at the time. Hind sight is obviously 20/20 in this case, but it doesn't excuse the fact that something drastic now has to take place to fix it, before something drastic happens to destroy it.

My contempt for these homeowners comes start from the article stating that these reports have been coming out since 1978 saying this. 36 years is not hindsight. I have never been to buckeye lake, but I will bet money that 75% of the houses affected are not 40 years old.

 

[buckeyebowman]

I think thy are going to drain it completely, let it dry up then Legend Valley takes over the whole area and Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, The Who, Rush, The Allman Brothers Band and The Grateful Dead perform live for 3 months non stop!!

I would have to move down there for 3 months! I remember seeing the Allman Bros. down there many, many, many, many moons ago!

5 year plan because nothing of that magnitude will happen quick. I hope the state comes off some their money from our licenses and builds a better dam behind the old one. Level the houses that were built on the dam. How was the ever allowed
other then money handed over and a blind eye turned.

I thought the same thing when I first read it. Build houses on a dam? What a knuckleheaded idea! My question is, who owns the lake and dam? We had a situation like this up here when the city of Youngstown breached Lake Milton dam and drained the lake, which they owned, because they didn't have the money to fix the dam. So, I'm voting for the 5 year plan as well. You know gov't bureaucracies, they'll spend a billion to study a million dollar project to death!

EDIT: Youngstown was eventually able to talk the state into taking over Lake Milton as a state park.

 

[ROOSKI]

Blue Goose - gone

Bob Connors wtvn radio - gone

Buckeye Lake - survivor! good time to clean it up.

 

[Fisher1672]

Ideally they should build a cofferdam in a selected area repairing sections while keeping summer levels normal. The next option drain lake and if core samples allow dig deeper selected areas of lake for improved summer/winter depth fish habitat. If they don't increase level for summer fishing is done for many years.

 

[Snyd]

I am very sad that I might not get my boat in it for years to come but I hope they do what's right and fix it for the long run.

 

[SteelEyes]

Who should pay for the replacement dam if/once the construction starts.

Should this be a local bill, like an increase to property tax or something, since property values is one of the complaints that keep popping up, let the ones who get the most benefit out of the lake being there pay for it.

Or maybe money from ODNR from fishing licences and such. Boaters from all around get a lot of use from the lake, from recreational to fishing tournaments.

Or should this be something where fellow Ohioans help our other fellow Ohioans, and have a state wide tax increase till this is payed off?

Bingo, I can't imagine the broader Ohio taxpayer is going to support spending what could easily be well over $100 million dollars on 1 reservoir that a small portion of the populace uses. The locals will likely never be able to afford funding it. The dam belongs to ODNR (Engineering I think).
Fishing licenses sales go to the Division of Wildlife coffers, and by law cannot be used for any other division or department.

 

[Sciotodarby]

Exactly. What obligation does the state and taxpayers have to fix the dam?

 

[Lowell H Turner]

As to "Who would build and sell houses on an earthen dam ?" the same kind of people like the gentleman in Hawaii who is still trying to develop an area literally right on the EDGE of the last major lava flow from the summer of 2014 ! The same kind of people who filled in and paved over the Love Canal toxic waste dump in the late 1950s and put in 354 houses for your suburban pleasure. The same kind of people who are attempting to convince the State of Washington to allow 3 major developments in the wash out plains close to Mount Rainer...and the same exact people who build and sell houses less than a stone`s throw from the high tide mark up and down the Eastern and Gulf Coast seaboards, apparently having never heard of something called a "HURRICANE"...rather pretty 1/2 million dollar (or MORE) houses too ! (Wonder what the insurance runs a year on 1...)

 

[Mushijobah]

More updates:

http://www.dispatch.com/content/sto...content/stories/local/2015/03/18/500-turn-out-for-buckeye-lake-dam-meeting.html

 

[BottomBouncer]

I have an idea.... They can drain it and scoop up all those massive flatheads that they claim are in there then sell them to the paylakes to fund the dam project!!!

 

[bestfive]

Put a cofferdam 10-30ft in front of the existing dam. Drain the water and mud between the dam and the bank. Dig down to bedrock and pour new dam or just fill with concrete and scrap concrete from road tear-ups.