Work funded by Fayette County on the Lake Peachtree spillway that required boring and filling the void areas is now complete and is expected to be good for the next 20-30 years. The lake can begin to re-fill once the dredging is completed later in the summer.
“It’s now a solid chunk of concrete,” Fayette County Water System Director LeePope said of the spillway, adding that the work is expected to last 20-30 years. “There was soil under the spillway slab but now it’s high-pressure grout. Now the spillway is in better shape than it ever was.”
The cost of the work totaled $99,855 and included drilling into numerous voids and filling those areas with high-pressure grout, especially along the bottom of the spillway, Pope said.
With the work now complete, county representatives expect to do a walk-through with the contractor this week, according to Fayette County Water System Director Lee Pope.
In a related latter, the Peachtree City Council on June 4 unanimously approved a budget amendment for $100,000 to cover current and any upcoming fees related to the Lake Peachtree dam and spillway. Any unused funds will be transferred back into the general fund account.
Meantime, a June 4 amendment by the Peachtree City Council allocated $100,000 from general fund cash reserves to the Public Improvement Program (PIP) for ongoing costs associated with the dam project on Lake Peachtree. Funds not spent would be carried over to FY 2016.
Legal and engineering expenses over the past two years have totaled $200,000, with approximately $10,000 still outstanding and needing payment.
The council unanimously agreed to the $100,000 allocation to pay the current $10,000 due now and to use the remaining, if needed, to pay those expenses without having to have the topic return on other occasions and be dealt with as budget amendments.
The remaining balance will be transferred back to the general fund once the project is completed.
Over the past two years, legal fees from both the city attorney and a consulting attorney have totaled $101,390 while engineering costs have totaled $98,435.
What is left in the current saga of Lake Peachtree is completing the dredging work and re-filling the lake. Dredging activities by Fayette County have seen significant delay due to a rainy spring.
As is stands today, and barring continued wet weather, the dredging of 64,000 cubic yards of accumulated soil and plant material in the area immediately to the south of the Ga. Highway 54 bridge is expected to be completed in late summer.
Beyond the areas being dredged by the county, the Peachtree City Council in early April voted to spend $24,000 to dredge the city-owned Pinecrest Boat Dock area off Hip Pocket Road.
