07-12-2004, 04:27 PM
it looks like tony grove will be out of comission for a whole see below:
Dam work to limit Tony Grove recreation
By John Wright
Fishing, canoeing, scuba diving and other aquatic activities will be limited this summer at Tony Grove Lake, one of the area's most popular recreation spots.
Beginning Monday, the lake will be gradually drained so crews can rebuild the Tony Grove Dam. The project is expected to begin in August and end in November. According to the Forest Service, the size of the lake will be reduced from about 30 acres to about 10 acres.
"It will be incredibly difficult to do any fishing. You'll be wading through a bunch of muck," said Lisa Perez, conservation education coordinator for the U.S. Forest Services' Logan Ranger District. "There won't be any water for canoeing or scuba diving or anything like that."
The earthen Tony Grove Dam, which was built in the late 1930s, must be rebuilt to comply with state requirements, according to the Forest Service. Inspections have found structural inadequacies that pose public safety risks, including the possibility of flooding at the Lewis M. Turner Campground in the event of seismic activity. The Turner Campground is near the turnoff for Tony Grove on U.S. Highway 89.
"It needs to be done and so we're going to get it done this summer," Perez said of the dam project.
In addition to limits on aquatic activities, Perez said traffic on the road to Tony Grove will be congested during construction.
Mike Van Horn, a recreation technician with the Forest Service, said it will take time for the lake to drain, meaning aquatic activities can continue in the meantime. Van Horn said the lake will be lowered to its original level before the dam was constructed.
"It was at one time a natural lake," he said. "They just augmented it by putting the dikes across it and raising the water level."
Van Horn also noted that trails in the area and the Tony Grove campground will remain open.
"Everything will be in operation," he said. "Most of the vehicle traffic for construction will be after Labor Day. ... We think Tony Grove should be able to function as normal. It'll just be a little lower in the lake. I wouldn't discourage anybody from going up there. It'll still be a very good place to go recreate."
While the campground will remain open, there will be no drinking water there this year. That's because the state Division of Water Quality has determined that the water, which comes from a nearby spring, is not fit for consumption. Campers will need to bring their own water for drinking and other purposes.
Perez said the source of the contamination is surface water leaching through porous rocks into the spring. She also said the quality of water in the spring hasn't gone down, but DWQ standards have been raised.
"It's the same water everyone's been drinking," Perez said. "It's just that it's supposed to be cleaner now than what it was before. ... We'll probably have to treat it. We haven't had to do that in the past because it's really clean water. They'll have to figure something out."
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Dam work to limit Tony Grove recreation
By John Wright
Fishing, canoeing, scuba diving and other aquatic activities will be limited this summer at Tony Grove Lake, one of the area's most popular recreation spots.
Beginning Monday, the lake will be gradually drained so crews can rebuild the Tony Grove Dam. The project is expected to begin in August and end in November. According to the Forest Service, the size of the lake will be reduced from about 30 acres to about 10 acres.
"It will be incredibly difficult to do any fishing. You'll be wading through a bunch of muck," said Lisa Perez, conservation education coordinator for the U.S. Forest Services' Logan Ranger District. "There won't be any water for canoeing or scuba diving or anything like that."
The earthen Tony Grove Dam, which was built in the late 1930s, must be rebuilt to comply with state requirements, according to the Forest Service. Inspections have found structural inadequacies that pose public safety risks, including the possibility of flooding at the Lewis M. Turner Campground in the event of seismic activity. The Turner Campground is near the turnoff for Tony Grove on U.S. Highway 89.
"It needs to be done and so we're going to get it done this summer," Perez said of the dam project.
In addition to limits on aquatic activities, Perez said traffic on the road to Tony Grove will be congested during construction.
Mike Van Horn, a recreation technician with the Forest Service, said it will take time for the lake to drain, meaning aquatic activities can continue in the meantime. Van Horn said the lake will be lowered to its original level before the dam was constructed.
"It was at one time a natural lake," he said. "They just augmented it by putting the dikes across it and raising the water level."
Van Horn also noted that trails in the area and the Tony Grove campground will remain open.
"Everything will be in operation," he said. "Most of the vehicle traffic for construction will be after Labor Day. ... We think Tony Grove should be able to function as normal. It'll just be a little lower in the lake. I wouldn't discourage anybody from going up there. It'll still be a very good place to go recreate."
While the campground will remain open, there will be no drinking water there this year. That's because the state Division of Water Quality has determined that the water, which comes from a nearby spring, is not fit for consumption. Campers will need to bring their own water for drinking and other purposes.
Perez said the source of the contamination is surface water leaching through porous rocks into the spring. She also said the quality of water in the spring hasn't gone down, but DWQ standards have been raised.
"It's the same water everyone's been drinking," Perez said. "It's just that it's supposed to be cleaner now than what it was before. ... We'll probably have to treat it. We haven't had to do that in the past because it's really clean water. They'll have to figure something out."
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