Work on the spillway at DuBois Center has begun! Last Thursday, heavy equipment rumbled into camp. To protect the existing dam, the water level needs to be about 5 feet below the current spillway pipe. This is to provide more than adequate room to dig out and replace the old pipe and spillway grate. To accomplish this, the road and dam were cut open and an 8-inch pipe temporarily installed. Using “siphon power” the pipe is drawing water out of the lake and depositing it in the creek below on the back side of the dam. The gouge in the road was temporarily refilled so that vehicles, people and horses can still cross from one side of camp to the other. There are groups at DuBois Center, riding horses and participating in other activities on the far side of lake through the end of November, so access is critical. If the weather holds and the siphon continues to do its job, actual installation of the new spillway grate and pipe could begin as early as this week or next. Watch Facebook and Instagram for updates!
THANKS to every church and individual who donated to Operation Shimmer! We reached our goal of raising $50,000 new money for this spillway project and the installation of air-conditioning in Oak Lodge just last month. Note: $10,000 had been donated previously for the Oak Lodge piece of the project, bringing the total to over $60,000.