Lower Shaker Lake Dam Reconstruction

Restoration project will bring dam up to safety standards, address downstream flooding, and restore a stretch of Doan Brook

UPCOMING EVENTS

Thursday, October 5 Public Meeting (6:00-7:30 p.m.) via Zoom | Register

Saturday, October 7 Project Open House (10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.) between North Park and South Park Boulevards

Project area. Click to enlarge.

This project will address the deficiencies of the 150-year-old dam, reconstruct the dam to safely pass the required design flood, reduce the frequency and severity of flooding downstream, and restore Doan Brook immediately downstream of the dam. All these goals shall be met while providing adequate consideration of the surrounding parkland and cultural and ecological resources.

More information about this project will be coming soon.

Currently in the pre-design phase, this project will involve significant opportunities for customer engagement. We will post updates, meeting plans, and outreach events on this page. You can also contact us to stay connected as this project advances.

Pre-design project summary as presented to NEORSD Trustees June 15, 2023.

Project update: August 2023

Have you seen our crews out and about at Lower Lake? The pre-design phase involves gathering data and carefully recording information. It is a very important step in building a project! Pre-design work lays the foundation for the engineering, modeling, and feasibility of what will be installed in the future. Here are some of the data collection activities you may see us doing, along with a brief description:

Topographic Survey and Geotechnical Investigations:

Soil borings help engineers understand the composition and quality of the ground that they are working in. Does the ground have a lot of clay or sand? Is it dense? What is the moisture content and where is the bedrock layer? Answers to these questions will inform the structural design. During this work, the team will also very precisely locate the rise and fall of the land, location of above-ground utilities and create an overall map of the area.

Dam inspection:

When designing a new dam to replace an old one, it is critical that the engineers understand the condition of the existing dam. Because the current dam will be removed, they need to know if there are structural weak points that could threaten the site during the project. To complete the dam inspection, the water level in the lake must be lowered.

Fish survey and relocation:

Prior to lowering the water level at Lower Lake for the dam inspection, the District will be utilizing an approved technique called electrofishing to collect native species and relocate them downstream. Due to regulations, only native species can be relocated. While water will remain in Lower Lake, some fish may perish because of this inspection work. The relocation of the collected native fish will reduce that likelihood for the native fish population in Lower Lake.

Stay up to date on this project

If you have any questions, please contact us.