‘We don’t want them to worry’ — Park lake dam scheduled for replacement

The Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest Service began making arrangements to replace the Park Lake dam, an embankment constructed in the late 1800s  on a 40-acre lake up Lump Gulch, after discovering increased water seepage and erosion in the dam foundation during the site’s annual safety and functionality inspection, according to a Forest Service press release on Aug. 23.

Helena Forest Service District Ranger Kathy Bushnell and District Public Affairs Officer Chiara Cipriano said there is no public safety emergency at this time; however, the agency has made the project a priority and “initiated a process to rehabilitate the dam” to avoid a future emergency.

At the moment the Forest Service does not have a plan of action to replace the dam, but the agency does intend to reduce Park Lake’s water level by six to eight feet in September to alleviate stress on the dam, Cipriano said, adding that the entire project is expected to wrap-up within two years.