Sandy Springs Continues With Plan To Repair Lake Forrest Dam

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Sandy Springs, GA -- The next step in repairing the Lake Forrest Dam will be removing another six feet of water from the primary lake adjacent to the Dam and then removing any remaining fish.

That was the update the Sandy Springs City Council received at its meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 15.

Assistant City Manager Bryant Poole said those steps are expected to begin at the beginning of 2016.

Sandy Springs in late July completed the first phase of draining the lake and fish removal. Once the lake has been drained and allowed to dry, additional geotechnical testing will be conducted to help with determination of best options for repair.

City leaders have requested staff to look at multiple options.

The city has an intergovernmental agreement with the city of Atlanta regarding repairs of the dam, with the two cities sharing equally in addressing and implementing improvements, repairs and/or alterations to bring the dam into compliance with the Safe Dams Act, including associated costs.

Once a repair option is selected and approved, it could take one to two years for designs to be finalized and permitted allowing for construction to begin.

The estimated 60-year-old dam, reclassified by the Safe Dams Program of the Environmental Protection Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources as a Category I Dam, has been identified with several deficiencies impacting its structural integrity.

Roughly one-half of the public road -- Lake Forrest Drive, which crosses over the top of the dam, -- lies within the city limits of Atlanta, with the remaining one-half within the city limits of Sandy Springs.

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