Buckeye Lake Dam Stability Study: Buckeye Lake State Park-Fairfield, Licking, and Perry Counties, Ohio

Buckeye Lake is a manmade recreation lake located in Licking, Fairfield, and Perry Counties, Ohio. The 4.2 mile long earthen Dam impounding the lake, constructed between 1825 and 1832, has a maximum structural height of 15 feet with a crest elevation of approximately 895.0 feet mean sea level (msl). The lake surface area is approximately 2,700 acres at the normal pool elevation of 891.75 feet msl. The Buckeye Lake Dam has been in-place for over 165 years and, generally speaking, the performance has been good. However, the Dam has been 'abused" from the perspective that the downstream toe has been compromised by excavations for house and building foundations and large trees have been permitted to grow on the crest and on the Dam slopes. Boat docks and other private improvements have also been constructed along and into the lake side of the crest. The Dam is considered a Class 1 structure (high hazard) by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) based on the size of the lake and the possibility of loss of life due to failure of the dam. This classification requires the lake and Dam to accommodate a Probable Maximum Flood (PMF). The current spillway system is capable of passing a flood equivalent to 50 percent of the PMF. Consequently, a portion of the full PMF must remain in storage in the lake. Therefore, the crest of the Dam is proposed to be raised as part of the Phase Ill Dam safety improvements. Raising the crest to a uniform elevation of 896.5 feet msl to accommodate the PMF lake level has prompted an investigation of the stability of the Dam. The results of the Dam stability analysis are an assessment of the pre- (before) and post- (after) stability of the Dam under normal and surcharge pool (PMF) loading conditions. In this paper, we will: Discuss the stability of the Dam for both the normal pool and surcharge pool loading conditions; . Discuss the results of the stability investigation of the Dam taking into account the embankment "abuses"; and - Discuss the impacts of the proposed Phase Ill Dam safety improvements on the stability of the Dam. 17 pp.