WKRN, Nashville, Tennessee News, Weather, and Sports |D.C. officials inspect Wolf Creek Dam problem

D.C. officials inspect Wolf Creek Dam problem

RUSSELL CO., Ky. - The top commander with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and officials from Washington, D.C. visited the Wolf Creek Dam in Kentucky to inspect a critical part of the structure Tuesday.

The Wolf Creek Dam sits on the Cumberland River in the western part of Russell County.

Officials were there to inspect a part of the dam, known as "critical area number one," for the first time after construction was stopped on it last week.

They are trying to determine what caused ground movement and increased pressure in that critical area over the past two months.

Major General John Peabody with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said,  "We have not drawn any conclusions at all as to what the causes of the indicators are, but the reason we have all the instruments that we have in this dam is to identify exactly whether we are having any indicators that might cause concern and then to investigate those."

Contractors had been pumping grout into the base of the dam to try and fill gaps more than 200 feet deep.

It is all part of the repair project started more than three years ago to stop the leaking dam.

The Corps of Engineers said in 2007 the dam was at high risk of failure.

Officials say, even with the new developments, the dam is still safe.

Peabody said, "Anytime that we're working on a dam, and we are making progress, we're improving it, and when you are making improvements, it's becoming safer. "

It was the constant monitoring of instruments along the dam that alerted officials to the movement and rise in pressure below the surface.

Officials said a previous crack had opened nearly an inch more in just two months.

The lake level had been at least 20 feet higher than the corps wanted.

Officials were able to drop the level down quickly, and they say they do not believe that may have contributed to the sudden movement.

"We've had experiences before," Peabody said, "where we have had these temporary loads and there have been no indicators that those temporary loads are causing any problems, so we feel fairly confident that as long as we bring it back down relatively quickly, it's not an issue."

Officials said they are unsure if the dam has moved any more since the construction stopped last week. 

It could be weeks before they determine what has caused the movement.