Feb. 22 storm overwhelms new trash diverter

By Carol Donlan

Barcroft News Staff

 

The storm of Feb. 22, 2003 will go down in Lake Barcroft history.

As Dave Alne told it at the Annual LBA meeting, two inches of rain fell on top of 24 inches of snow and another 2 inches of snow melt. Then four more inches of rain came tumbling into Tripps Run -- pushing trash into our heavy-duty debris catcher at the Potterton Bridge. But it wasn't the trash, it was the deluge of water that would take its toll on the new debris catcher.

How much water was flowing? Well, the dam gate opened 45% for only the third time. It opened that wide in major storms in 1991 and 1996. The dam keeps the water level of the Lake constant by opening to spill extra water.

At Tripps Run, the trash started to collect and water was flowing over the top of the collector, when suddenly water started shooting up with the trash, right over the catcher and into the Lake. The swift water eroded tons of rock under the diverter, leaving the base hanging free.

It's estimated that it will take 10 truckloads of Riprap #2 stone to fill the void.

"We have a pretty good idea what we must do. We must fill the void ...," Dave said. And the WID will be removing trucks full of debris from the Lake.

"The hydraulics of fast moving water," added Dave, "is an art, not a science."