KINGWOOD — Work is progressing on the Deckers Creek dam project, according to PSD1 Board Chairman Rodney Liston. However, he said, it might not be completed by the end of the year.
Liston said at a meeting last week the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) gave the district a 98% completion on the water source side of the dam.
At this week’s Preston County Commission meeting, he said the piping and risers are in place. All that remains is some spillway work and cleanup.
PSD 1 Board Member Mike Adams said the downstream part of the project is at the mercy of the weather.
“The weather is on us, and we haven’t moved on the project since last Thursday. So here we are,” he said Monday.
In 2017, the district was ordered by the NRCS to find a new, temporary water source, so the dam on Ruby Farms that holds back its water source could be rebuilt. That project is more than a year behind schedule.
Now relying on a pond called Impoundment 6, the district has been plagued with problems treating the water for odor, taste and appearance customers find unpalatable.
Liston said only 15 of 60 risers have been completed on the downstream side of the dam.
“When working with concrete, temperature parameters have to be met,” he said.
Although the NRCS is looking at a completion date by the end of the year, both Adams and Liston said they are doubtful.
“I believe you can read between the lines,” Adams said. “We will be very lucky if it is finished this year.”
“In my mind there is no way to complete it this year,” Liston said. “I have no feel for an end date.”
