Hard Labor Creek Management Board Does Not Grant Extension For Dam Construction Despite Heavy Rains

The Hard Labor Creek Regional Reservoir Management Board this afternoon decided not to grant an extension in the time line for construction of the reservoir and dam despite an estimate that between 45 and 60 days had been lost due to heavy rains on Dec. 22.

The 3.4 inches of rainfall over a 19-hour period resulted in a breach of the coffer dam being used in construction of the actual dam, Project Manager Jimmy Parker told the Board at its meeting in the Walton County government building.

The contractor is responsible for deciding how to divert water during the construction process, Parker said, and should work overtime to finish the dam and reservoir by the Jan. 20, 2015, completion date.

Parker said that the amount of rain on Dec. 22 was classified as a two-year rainfall, meaning that it is quite common, and Layne Heavy Civil Inc. simply had taken the risk that such a rain would not fall during the construction period as a way of saving money.

For more on this story, including pictures of the breached dam, go to Oconee County Observations.