(Louisville, Ky.) -- The Army Corps of Engineers’ Louisville District has completed an Engineering Report which recommends keeping Barren River Lake’s current winter pool elevation target of 528.0.
The Engineering Report was compiled to evaluate the impacts of keeping the winter pool at elevation 528.0 as opposed to returning to the “authorized” winter pool elevation of 525.0. The lake has targeted the 528.0 elevation since 1999 when sedimentation adversely impacted some of the project’s authorized purposes.
The decision to approve or deny the 528.0 target is made by the Louisville District’s Division office, located in Cincinnati, OH. The Engineering Report was prepared at the direction of the Division Office and input from Corps Headquarters. Additional requirements included coordination with Corps Dam Safety Policy and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The NEPA review resulted in a Finding of No Significant Impacts and was completed in May of 2014.
The Engineering Report concluded that adopting the 528 elevation would result in a negligible loss of flood control storage while providing positive impacts to lake recreation, water supply, and fish and wildlife enhancement, all of which are authorized project purposes for Barren Lake. A copy of the Engineering report can be found online at: http://www.lrl.usace.army.mil/Missions/CivilWorks/Recreation/Lakes/BarrenandNolinreservoirsengineeringreport.aspx. Table 3.1 of this report lists these impacts in greater detail.
The public will have the opportunity to ask questions about the Engineering Report during an open house. Corps representatives will address questions on the report and the recommended adoption of the current winter pool elevation.
Date: July 21, 2016
Location: Army Corps of Engineers, 11088 Finney Road, Glasgow, KY 42141
Time: noon-4 p.m. CST
Inquiries may also be E-mailed to LRL-Pagemaster-GRB@usace.army.mil or mailed to the above location. The Louisville District will accept inquiries until July 20, 2016. The Corps will answer all pertinent questions by posting the question and response to the website. For those mailing their inquiries, a copy of the Corps reply will be posted to the website and mailed to the sender.
Release no. 16-025