The dam at the Laurens, S.C., club is rated by the South Carolina Department of Environmental Control as having the highest level of risk to life and property if it were to fail. The club plans to remove trees from the dam and replace them with turf, but a total reconstruction would be costly.
The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) has issued an emergency order to fix dams across the state, including an earthen dam at Lakeside Country Club in Laurens, S.C., the Greenville, S.C.-based WYFF 4 reported.
Seven dams in Laurens, Greenwood, Anderson and Spartanburg counties are now considered unsafe by DHEC after the historic flooding slammed the state. So far DHEC records show that they have accessed 645 dams statewide. Seventy-five of those dams fall under the emergency order where owners must lower water levels in reservoirs and submit a plan from engineers to fix problems by October 30, WYFF reported.
The Lakeside Country Club Dam is one of two in Laurens County on the list. The earthen dam is currently rated by DHEC as having the highest level of risk to life and property if it were to fail, WYFF reported.
J.R. Hawkins, golf course superintendent, said he believes the 34-year-old structure won’t fail. He said the golf course was slammed with 17 inches of rain when the state was hit with devastating flooding. Hawkins said DHEC wants them to remove all trees off the back of the dam and address a small seepage in the area, WYFF reported.
Standards have changed over the years, Hawkins said, and they must now replace the trees with turf but said their budget would take a hit if they have to a complete reconstruction of the dam, WYFF reported.
“We’re going to do our best to solve this problem without having to reconstruct the dam, because financially for a small facility, that’s not feasible,” Hawkins said.
Hawkins said they have hired an engineer and will continue to work with DHEC on submitting a plan before the deadline, WYFF reported.
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