A Dam Safety Awareness Day event recognizing improvements to the Hearthstone Lake Dam brought senior leaders from the governor’s office, state and federal agencies and the Headwaters Soil and Water Conservation District to Augusta County this week.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin proclaimed May 31 Dam Safety Awareness Day in Virginia, encouraging individuals and communities to understand the flood risk associated with dam failures and to take actions that increase safety.
Assistant Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources Corey Scott formally presented the proclamation to DCR Director Matt Wells in a brief ceremony at the base of the dam.
“Our goal is [for Virginia] to have the safest dams in the country,” Scott said, citing investments in dam safety that will spur the commonwealth’s work toward this goal.
As director of the agency that regulates more than 2,600 dams in Virginia, of which the majority are privately owned, Wells reaffirmed DCR’s mission to ensure dam safety alongside partners in the state legislature, the governor’s office and “perhaps our most important partners: dam owners.”
The agency’s Division of Dam Safety and Floodplain Management works to ensure that dams are properly and safely designed, built, operated and maintained.
Pointing to Hearthstone as an example of best practices in dam rehabilitation, Wells called it “an ideal place to talk about dam safety in Virginia.”
Hearthstone Lake Dam was chosen for this event because it recently completed a multi-million dollar rehabilitation that has significantly reduced flood risk to nearly 300 area homes and businesses.
The dam at Hearthstone Lake is classified as High Hazard dam, which means that a failure would likely cause loss of life. In March, it received the Best Major Construction or Rehabilitation Project Award from the Virginia Lakes and Waterfronts Association.
The Headwaters Soil and Water Conservation District, which is responsible for maintaining the Hearthstone Lake Dam, spearheaded the rehabilitation. This effort was necessary due to population increases, changes in hydrology and deterioration to the original 1966 structure, explained Michael Jimenez, the district’s dam management technician.
The United States Department of Agriculture’s National Resources Conservation Service provided 65 percent of the $3.7 million project cost, while Augusta County funded the remainder. Dr. Edwin Martinez, NRCS state conservationist, said this rehabilitation is part of an ongoing larger national effort to rehabilitate NRCS assisted dams. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law has authorized $118,000,000 for NRCS assisted dam rehabilitation projects across the nation.
State Conservation Engineer Mathew Lyons, who also worked on the Hearthstone project, called the Hearthstone rehabilitation “one of the best examples of collaboration and cooperation among multiple entities that I’ve ever been involved in.”
This was echoed by Jonathan Pittman, principal with Schnabel Engineering South, which designed the modifications to the dam. These included improvements to the principal and auxiliary spillways and the dam’s gate system, as well as access road work.
“A lot of the work, you can’t see — and that’s a good thing,” Pittman said, noting that the rehab also included removing giant rocks below the foot of the dam, then excavating 25 feet down to create new drainage systems.
“That is why this is so important. [Hearthstone Lake Dam] is not just a dam. It’s a lifesaving asset,” Pittman said.
“You can’t always see it, but everyone in the community benefits from it.”
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