An aging dam on the north side of Youth Camp Lake in western Bartholomew County was seeping enough that those responsible for it recently lowered the lake’s level by 15 feet as a precaution. That relieved some pressure, but it’s a short-term fix.
“…We don’t really know what (the solution) is going to look like,” Foundation for Youth director Chuck Kime told The Republic’s Andy East last week. “We’re still picking through the options of what is possible.”
“The dam is steady at this water level,” he added. “There is no concern there. … We want (the public) to know that we’re being diligent about the safety that surrounds it (the dam), and that we acknowledge that this has been an asset in our community for generations,” Kime said. “We take that responsibility also very seriously. We’re trying to find the safest possible route to make sure that we can serve kids for generations to come.”
Whatever the solution is, it’s bound to be costly. After all, the earthen dam dates to the 1930s, when President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Works Progress Administration was going full-bore on infrastructure programs that built dams, roads and other projects to provide employment during the Great Depression. Very likely, local folks reading this had ancestors who helped build Youth Camp Lake Dam.
The problem is, time takes its toll on every structure, and that’s not just the story with the on the Youth Camp Lake Dam. These structures are subject to the constant pressure of eroding forces of nature, and time has taken a toll.
According to the US Army Corps of Engineers, there are 43 state-regulated dams in Bartholomew County, 34 of which are subject to inspection and rating. And of those 34 dams, 23 are rated in poor condition, according to data on the National Inventory of Dams’ searchable database at nid.sec.usace.army.mil.
Nearly all these dams in poor condition are privately owned. One, though — Grouse Ridge Lake Dam near Mt. Healthy in southern Bartholomew County — is owned by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. It is classified by the Corps of Engineers as a high hazard potential dam, meaning a failure could be expected to cause loss of at least one life. Grouse Ridge Lake Dam has been assessed in poor condition since at least 2000, according to the Corps’ data.
The Associated Press reported last year that more than 2,200 dams nationwide are rated in poor condition, which according to the Corps of Engineers indicates a “safety deficiency is clearly recognized … and immediate actions to resolve the deficiency are recommended.” The Corps’ only assessment lower than “poor” is “unsatisfactory,” which means unsafe conditions at a dam require immediate action. (No dams in Bartholomew County are rated unsatisfactory.)
The Youth Camp Dam situation is far from isolated, and it should send a message to state and federal officials that there needs to be some assistance at the ready to help private organizations upgrade and maintain these structures.
Attitudes toward dams and their impacts on the environment have changed since most of these structures were built, largely in the 1940s through the 1970s. Fewer are permitted today, and those in place are in decline. That said, they demand responsible long-term planning and stewardship in the interests of public safety and what’s best for our natural world.
