Water levels at the privately owned Lake Elberta fell, when the dam broke, last week.

Dam Break at Local Historic
Elberta Lake

 

by: Bobby McDonald

 

This break in the dam at Lake Elberta caused the drain of the historic facility.

 

Sometime during the night of Thursday, June 4th, or the early morning hours of Friday, June 5th, the dam at the historic, private, Lake Elberta broke, causing water levels to drop. "It could have been a number of factors," expressed one of the property owners, Tom Green. "The lake was dug with mules and 'fresnos' back in 1906, so the dam had held for over 100 years. I'm sure that in that length of time, tree roots had penetrated the dam, and we've had problems with beavers and nutria from time to time, so who knows what exactly caused it to break!"

 

 

Property owners hate to see the damage to the beautiful private lake, that is surrounded by cabins. "We'll have to have a board meeting and decide how we're going to make the repairs," expressed Bob Weaver, another Lake Elberta Property owner. "We'll be forced to get someone in that knows something about reparations and see how much it is going to cost."

 

Historic Lake Elberta celebrated its centennial in 2006.

 

 

Water levels dropped approximately 4 foot, leaving piers suspended in the air. "The springs that feed the lake were still 'trickling' this week, but there is no way for the lake to hold any 'run-off' water, should we get much of a rain!" explained Weaver.

 

 

Lake Elberta celebrated its centennial event in 2006 and has been a pleasant place for Hopkins County property owners to enjoy holidays and summertime activities for over a century.

"Fourth of July will be kind of 'dull' this year, with little water in the lake," exclaimed another property owner. "But, I know everyone will be committed to getting it fixed as soon as we can get someone to do the work!"

 

 

 

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