Because Pye Lake isn't

draining as quickly as hoped, Fayetteville officials are planning to use

a larger siphon to get the lake level down to protect the public while

solutions are sought to the lake's dam problem.

The city has undertaken the

project as a measure to protect the citizens downstream from the lake

who are in danger of flooding should the dam fail. The lake hasn't

lowered as quickly as officials hoped due to rain events, said City Engineer

Don Easterbrook.

"It drops down and then

we get some rain and it goes back up," Easterbrook said of the lake's

fluctuating level. "The siphon we have on there is not big enough

to get it down to where we need it."

Although the rain has kept

the lake level up, it has not held back the city's analysis of whether

the lake can be used by the city for flood control measures, Easterbrook

said. If that is a consideration, the city may consider using funds from

the stormwater program to repair the dam at a cost of over $100,000.

If not, the dam will likely

have to be permanently breached, effectively ending the flooding threat

and the existence of the lake.

The Pye Lake dam has been classified

as a Category I dam by the state Safe Dams program because of several

defects noted in an inspection last year. If the defects caused the dam

to be breached, the resulting flood could kill at least one person downstream,

Safe Dams officials determined.

The lake's owner, Harriet

Parham, has said she cannot afford to repair the dam.

The lake feeds into Gingercake

Creek off Ga. Highway 54 in west Fayetteville and is accessible off Hood

Avenue. The area has suffered from flooding problems several times in

recent years with periods of intense rain.

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