As rain falls on Black Bass Lake in Eureka Springs, another force of nature is acting upon the lake's dam.

"The blocks that were once interlocked are now starting to tip and fail, and bulge outwards," said engineer Richard Purkeypile.

Purkeypile says recent erosion to the top portion of the dam is putting the structure in danger of failure.

"If we lose that, we lose 70 percent of the water supply for Eureka Springs," said Purkeypile.

But the city of Eureka Springs says it's trying to avoid that scenario by spending roughly 90-thousand dollars on upcoming repairs.

"I would worry about a lot of other things first, like interest rate and things like that, before I'd be worrying about the dam breaking," said alderman James DeVito.

DeVito says it appears the dam's instability came form an addition after the dam's oringinal construction in 1894.

Already, the city of Eureka Springs has lowered the level of the Black Bass Lake by eight feet; all to remove the pressure here on the back side of the dam.

"What we found when we drew the lake down as a preventative measure is that the initial dam that was built in the late 1800's is a substantially better dam," said DeVito.

But that doesn't mean the structure is 100-percent sound.

With inadequecies in the dam's spillway, this will likely be a long-term issue. .

But Purkeypile says the city does have at least one cheaper option, until it can put more resources into the dam's maintenance.

"The inexpensive proposal, if the city has to pay for it by itself, is just massive rock on the downstream side of the dam," said Purkeypile.

As far as the city's water supply is concerned, Purkeypile says it does have other feeders coming into the city, but if the dam failed and the pumping station was lost, Eureka Springs wouldn't have adequate pressure to support its fire protection district.

The city of Eureka Springs hopes FEMA funds will help with initial repairs.
 

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