Tuesday, May 12, 2009
A state environmental agency said rebuilding efforts for a Mart dam that broke early Sunday and drained Battle Lake in less than 24 hours would not qualify for state funding.
“This is a low-hazard dam, meaning that it doesn’t have an impact on residents or public drinking water systems,” said Andrea Morrow, a spokeswoman with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. “Dams that are high or significant hazard are the ones we tend to target the most with funding.”
The lake and dam belong to the city of Mart. The water that filled the 80-acre lake drained downstream by Sunday afternoon, leaving a bed of mud and small pools of water in its place. No one was injured, and no property or homes were affected by the dam break.
TCEQ is documenting the dam in photos and will work with the city to develop a rebuilding plan, Morrow said. Mart will be responsible for the costs of rebuilding the dam, Morrow said.
The lake sits on Battle Lake Golf Course. Owner Chuck Higgins said he learned of the dam break Sunday morning from the golf course’s head golf professional, who lives nearby and heard the lake draining. The lake serves as the main irrigation source for the golf course, Higgins said.
“We have some other sources of water on the golf course, and we will likely end up having to move water from those sources to irrigate,” Higgins said, estimating that there are about 10 ponds on the course. “With the rain season we are having, all of our water sources have been full, so we will weather the crisis.”
The golf course was not flooded by the dam break, Higgins said. McLennan County Commissioner Lester Gibson, whose precinct includes Mart, dispatched his assistant foreman and another road and bridge employee to block off Old Mart Lake Road on Sunday after it flooded. Most of the water will drain into Tradinghouse Creek Reservoir, Gibson said.
County Judge Jim Lewis, who lives in Mart near the lake, said he heard the water draining about 7 a.m. Sunday. He received a phone call from Mart Mayor Calvin Jones shortly afterward and met with him throughout the day to monitor the drainage.
Lewis called the incident a blow for the community.
Battle Lake originally was built by the city of Mart in 1914 to service locomotive engines that needed to refill on water as they traveled across the state.
“Mart was a railroad town, and that is what made building the lake a necessity, so that trains could fill up on water because they operated on steam power,” Gibson said. “After it ceased to operate as a railroad town, some years later the city transformed the lake into a recreational center, and people would boat and fish on the water.”
Gibson said the county likely will not help Mart rebuild the dam, but he is working with city officials to find funding for the project.
Gibson and Lewis said they are reaching out to state Rep. Jim Dunnam, D-Waco, to see if there are any federal stimulus funds available to rebuild the dam. Lewis said he also has contacted state Sen. Kip Averitt, R-Waco, and the Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Austin headquarters for financial help.
rdennis@wacotrib.com
757-5755
(All photos by Duane A. Laverty)
Comments
By null
Jun 7, 2009 5:32 PM | Link to this
its sad that happen to that lake i use too swim in that lake as a young boy growing up in mart i think they need to build a comm. swimming pool in mart instead of funding that lake come on people give those kids a place to cool off this summer
By Sarah
May 13, 2009 12:01 AM | Link to this
Someone in Austin needs to be checking into this matter and see why the City of Mart didn't use the money that was given to them to maintain the "dam" at Battle Lake. Are they sure it wasn't sabotaged? That dam was not in that bad of a shape.. The City of Mart used to take care of that park & lake back in the 70's & 80's. It was a great place and people fished there,camped and we had a special swimming area. When it happened Sunday, why didn't officials get out there to save the fish and transfer them ? no, let them die and rot out there... how ridiculous. By the way, the lake has been there a lot longer than the blessed golf course who by the way, used the lake as his irrigation and got water from the lake for free to make sure he had green greens. They blocked the back way in to the lake to allow people to fish at the lake. Well, I hope that they are happy. What would have happened if the "new expensive homes" had been built at Battle Lake? Boy, I bet the city officials would be running around to get it fixed pronto. I blame the City of Mart for allowing them to get away with not keeping up the park & lake and maintaining it.
By Sarah
May 13, 2009 12:00 AM | Link to this
Someone in Austin needs to be checking into this matter and see why the City of Mart didn't use the money that was given to them to maintain the "dam" at Battle Lake. Are they sure it wasn't sabotaged? That dam was not in that bad of a shape.. The City of Mart used to take care of that park & lake back in the 70's & 80's. It was a great place and people fished there,camped and we had a special swimming area. When it happened Sunday, why didn't officials get out there to save the fish and transfer them ? no, let them die and rot out there... how ridiculous. By the way, the lake has been there a lot longer than the blessed golf course who by the way, used the lake as his irrigation and got water from the lake for free to make sure he had green greens. They blocked the back way in to the lake to allow people to fish at the lake. Well, I hope that they are happy. What would have happened if the "new expensive homes" had been built at Battle Lake? Boy, I bet the city officials would be running around to get it fixed pronto. I blame the City of Mart for allowing them to get away with not keeping up the park & lake and maintaining it.
By Sarah
May 12, 2009 11:57 PM | Link to this
Someone in Austin needs to be checking into this matter and see why the City of Mart didn't use the money that was given to them to maintain the "dam" at Battle Lake. Are they sure it wasn't sabotaged? That dam was not in that bad of a shape.. The City of Mart used to take care of that park & lake back in the 70's & 80's. It was a great place and people fished there,camped and we had a special swimming area. When it happened Sunday, why didn't officials get out there to save the fish and transfer them ? no, let them die and rot out there... how ridiculous. By the way, the lake has been there a lot longer than the blessed golf course who by the way, used the lake as his irrigation and got water from the lake for free to make sure he had green greens. They blocked the back way in to the lake to allow people to fish at the lake. Well, I hope that they are happy. What would have happened if the "new expensive homes" had been built at Battle Lake? Boy, I bet the city officials would be running around to get it fixed pronto. I blame the City of Mart for allowing them to get away with not keeping up the park & lake and maintaining it.
By Sarah
May 12, 2009 11:56 PM | Link to this
Someone in Austin needs to be checking into this matter and see why the City of Mart didn't use the money that was given to them to maintain the "dam" at Battle Lake. Are they sure it wasn't sabotaged? That dam was not in that bad of a shape.. The City of Mart used to take care of that park & lake back in the 70's & 80's. It was a great place and people fished there,camped and we had a special swimming area. When it happened Sunday, why didn't officials get out there to save the fish and transfer them ? no, let them die and rot out there... how ridiculous. By the way, the lake has been there a lot longer than the blessed golf course who by the way, used the lake as his irrigation and got water from the lake for free to make sure he had green greens. They blocked the back way in to the lake to allow people to fish at the lake. Well, I hope that they are happy. What would have happened if the "new expensive homes" had been built at Battle Lake? Boy, I bet the city officials would be running around to get it fixed pronto. I blame the City of Mart for allowing them to get away with not keeping up the park & lake and maintaining it.
By Sarah
May 12, 2009 11:46 PM | Link to this
The officials need to check into this matter further and see why suddenly the "dam" broke? Get Real ! I bet it was sabatoged if they dig a little deeper. There has been money allocated for this before and somehow it got used somewhere else???? This lake and park was a great thing back in the 70's & 80's. It was kept up and maintained well. The people that have houses there pay money each year to the City of Mart which they graciously pocket. It has been neglected and the City needs to be held accountable. Gee, I wonder what would have happened if the new million dollar homes had been built out there? Boy, I bet they would be busting butt to get the problem fixed. Why didn't they try to rescue the fish and transfer them? But to just let them rot and die is ridiculous ! The golf course has used the water from the lake for free all of these years (and by the way, the lake was there way before the golf course was) and we were denied access to the other side of the lake for several years now... We fished at that lake many a times putting out trot lines, go crappie fishing, and brim fishing every year. It is just really sad and pathetic that the City of Mart won't own up to their mistakes and clean this up or it is a certain death for Battle Lake... I am just really mad that this has happened...
By Jan Faulstich
May 12, 2009 12:59 PM | Link to this
Months ago, when the city of Mart was trying to sell the lake and surrounding property out from under the people (who were more than willing to buy the land themselves) who've lived there for decades to a developer, they were happy to have it. Now that it's empty they want to act like it's not their problem. Saying that it doesn't impact residents is absurd. Now those same residents live next to a big mud hole that already stinks to high-heaven. The government is happily giving away trillions of dollars for ridiculous causes, how about throwing a few thousand at getting this dam fixed?
Commenting is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. M-F, except on Tuesday when it's open until 9 p.m.
Post a comment
*HTML not allowed in comments. Your e-mail address is required.