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Caples Lake south of South Lake Tahoe has been drained, but officials may place a new temporary dam at the lake by this weekend.
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE — Placement of a temporary “bladder” dam at Caples Lake may occur as soon as Friday.
The temporary dam is being installed to protect workers who are scheduled to make major repairs to the outlet works of the Caples Lake main dam while storing as much water as possible for the coming winter.
“We are waiting for the exact moment when the water level is at the right height to install the dam safely and still maximize the amount of water we can store,” said Jake Eymann, senior engineer at the District who is managing the emergency repair project. “That time may be as early as this Friday, but it could be several days afterward. The company that will complete the installation is on call and waiting for our signal.”
In the meantime, crews are constructing pumping systems that will move water from behind the temporary dam through a pipeline to provide stream flows downstream of the main dam while the repairs are underway and to pump water that may seep under the temporary dam back into the storage area behind the dam.
The temporary dam is being installed to protect workers who are scheduled to make major repairs to the outlet works of the Caples Lake main dam while storing as much water as possible for the coming winter.
“We are waiting for the exact moment when the water level is at the right height to install the dam safely and still maximize the amount of water we can store,” said Jake Eymann, senior engineer at the District who is managing the emergency repair project. “That time may be as early as this Friday, but it could be several days afterward. The company that will complete the installation is on call and waiting for our signal.”
In the meantime, crews are constructing pumping systems that will move water from behind the temporary dam through a pipeline to provide stream flows downstream of the main dam while the repairs are underway and to pump water that may seep under the temporary dam back into the storage area behind the dam.
