College Lake Dam

College Lake Dam is a dam on Blackwater Creek in Lynchburg, Virginia, located near the University of Lynchburg. In 2018, a major flood caused the dam to overflow, leading to around 150 evacuations. The dam is currently managed by the Lynchburg City Council.

The dam was first constructed in 1934 on Blackwater Creek and created College Lake. It was originally built through a partnership between the University of Lynchburg (then called Lynchburg College) and the Virginia Department of Transportation (then called Virginia Department of Highways), and it was intended to improve transportation in the area. Lynchburg College donated part of its land to the state of Virginia to build a 35-foot-high dam across Blackwater Creek as part of the building of Highway 460 west of Lynchburg. The initial size of the lake was 44 acres, and it was as deep as 30 feet in some parts. In newspapers of the time, it was described as a “scenic body of water,” and many people in the community began using it. In the decades after construction, it was a popular recreational spot for the college's college as well as residents. It was used for activities such as boating, fishing, and swimming when the temperatures allowed, and ice skating in the winter. By the 1990s, sediment accumulation, nutrient runoff, and raw sewage from development upstream had a detrimental effect on the college lake ecosystem. By 2005, the lake had shrunk from its original 44 acres to 19 acres, and its average depth was only 7 feet, with some areas accumulating enough sediment to reach the surface. Virginia enacted stricter dam safety laws in 2008, and as a result, the College Lake Dam was designated a “high hazard” dam This led to the state stopping regular operation and maintenance certificates for the College Lake Dam, placing it under conditional status. The city of Lynchburg now had to consider its options for the dam. The two options they considered were rehabilitating the dam to meet modern-day standards or draining the lake and reconnecting it to Blackwater Creek. In 2011, the dam was not issued an operations and maintenance certificate and was placed under conditional status. In 2014, the City of Lynchburg began exploring options to return the dam to standard regulations. Two possible solutions were considered: reinforcing the dam, which was predicted to cost about $8.5 million, or removing the dam and restoring the area, which was predicted to cost about $10 million. On 2 August 2018, in the evening, around 6 inches of rain fell within 2 hours, causing 12 inches of water to flow over the roadway above the dam across Lakeside Drive and into Blackwater Creek. This event possibly created or exacerbated structural damage to its outfall side, and experts warned it could fail at any time. Emergency workers evacuated 150 residents living downstream of the dam to E.C. Glass High School, which was being used as a Red Cross shelter. This event drew national and even international attention to this area due to the National Weather Service warning that water depths in Lynchburg could reach 17 feet in as little as 7 minutes if the dam failed. The lake was drained quickly after this occurred so could inspect the dam and make temporary repairs. The cost of long-term restoration efforts was estimated at around $20 million. Officials decided not to refill College Lake. Blackwater Creek continued carrying debris toward the James River, and the spillway frequently became clogged. Further research showed that keeping the lake empty did not reduce the risk of future flooding. Debris clogged the emergency outfall, and sediment was flowing downstream, so the lake was refilled in October 2018 until a permanent solution could be implemented. In December 2019, the City of Lynchburg and the Universi

Dam data from Wikidata (CC0) plus curated additions. Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).