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January 2, 2011

Duck River plans moving ahead

By Trent Moore The Cullman Times

CULLMAN — With surveys in the immediate construction area complete, Cullman officials hope to begin land acquisition for the Duck River dam project in February.

The new, approximately $70 million reservoir will be located east of lake Catoma and north of U.S. Highway 278. The project will encompasses the construction of a 640-acre lake and a six-mile pipeline with a 32-million-gallon-per-day capacity.

Mandell Tillman, coordinator for land acquisition, said the process should begin as soon as possible to ensure the projected construction start date of summer 2011 is met.

To expedite the process, the utilities board authorized Tillman and city attorney Roy Williams to assemble purchase contracts for land owners.

Construction of the dam will be handled in three phases, which will encompass the construction of a 12-foot tunnel cut into the rock in the west abutment area, and a 1,925-foot-long and 135-foot-high rock fill dam.

Phase I will include the construction of a water diversion tunnel, clearing and grubbing of the site, and dam foundation preparation; phase II will be the main construction phase, where the spillway, dam and water intake structure is built; and the pipeline to the water treatment plant will be assembled as part of phase III. The estimated completion date for the project is summer 2015.

In an effort to educate land owners in the watershed about what is coming, Tillman said a public meeting with residents is in the works. The project will affect an estimated 100 landowners, and will include approximately 10 relocations.



‰ For the complete story, see the Sunday, Jan. 2, 2011 print edition of The Cullman Times.

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