An approximately 1,800-foot-long earthen embankment was constructed in the 1930s to create a reservoir for supplying water to the park facilities. The embankment had since become overgrown and information regarding the design and construction had been lost. Erie County Department of Public Works engaged Bergmann Associates and McMahon & Mann to perform a dam safety assessment in response to concerns that the NYSDEC had expressed.
An approximately 1,800-foot-long earthen embankment was constructed in the 1930s to create a reservoir for supplying water to the park facilities. The embankment had since become overgrown and information regarding the design and construction had been lost. Erie County Department of Public Works engaged Bergmann and McMahon & Mann to perform a dam safety assessment in response to concerns that NYSDEC had expressed.
McMahon & Mann visually inspected the embankment for signs of excessive seepage and slope instability. We then drilled ten test borings and installed piezometers in the embankment and in the foundation. The borings were completed to identify embankment and foundation soil types and the depth to top of rock. The embankment piezometers were used to measure pore pressure in the embankment for subsequent stability analyses. The foundation piezometers measured potential uplift pressures in the dam foundation.
We analyzed the embankment stability using the boring, piezometer and survey data and reported our results and conclusions.
