One of the most important missions the U.S. Army Corps

One of the most important missions the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers carries out is reducing the risk of flooding. Completed in 1967, The Summersville Dam is designed to do just that. Like all critical infrastructure, the dam requires proper maintenance and routine inspections. During intense, comprehensive inspections which occur once every 10 years, engineers discovered a problem; last month they engineered a solution. A tunnel, part of the dam’s system, could not be dewatered thus engineers could not examine it. After coming up with some hypotheses and mulling over a few courses of action, engineers determined the Summersville Lake had to be lowered 55 feet below the normal winter pool level in order to allow workers to determine what was wrong and fix it. Under typical summer conditions, the water level normally reaches the tree line photographed.