Ohio Dam Deemed Unsafe, Construction Ordered Stopped

PERRY TOWNSHIP, OH — Construction on a Tuscarawas County dam was stopped this week after inspectors deemed the site unsafe. A judge ordered work on the dam to be halted after Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost requested the stoppage.

“This dam was already in rough shape, but now it’s just plain dangerous because of these illegal construction projects,” Yost said in a statement. “My office and our partners at the Department of Natural Resources won’t allow this guy to gamble with the public’s safety.”

The dam — located off County Road 156 in Perry Township — is earthen and categorized as a Class I dam, meaning failure of the dam could result in deaths or the collapse of a home or business.

On Dec. 23, inspectors surveyed the dam and saw active construction, construction which was not approved by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. The unapproved work included excavation along the dam's spillway, which could cause a structural failure, and construction of a new spillway, which risks erosion and failure, Yost's office said.

After the inspection was made, Yost's office requested a temporary restraining order barring Philip Dixon and his company, Dixon Real Estate Holdings, from performing construction at the Sleepy Hollow Lake dam.

Common Pleas Judge Edward O'Farrell barred further construction at the dam without ODNR approval and required Dixon to keep the water level from rising above the drainpipe until hazards at the dam are addressed. Dixon was also ordered to refill the excavated holes near the dam.