Managing Editor

Before you know it, the Thomaston city reservoir will be finished and ready for business.

At last week’s Thomaston Kiwanis Club meeting, Specialized Services Project Manager Glenn Buford was on hand to update the Kiwanians on the latest bit of progress.

The reservoir, a 47-acre impoundment, when filled, will be 44 feet deep and will hold nearly 500 million gallons of water.

“The reservoir is about 75-80 percent complete,” said Buford. “We hope to be finished by Oct. 29, but we will probably be here through Thanksgiving dressing the area up.”

According to Thomaston City Manager Pat Comiskey, Specialized Services were contracted by the city because of their project experience in earth-moving, stormwater systems and building dams. Comiskey pointed out the recent KIA plant excavation in West Point was carried out by Buford and his team.

“We have excavated nearly 150,000 yards of bad material and brought in another 250,000 yards of earthfield,” noted Buford.

The top of the dam will be 749 feet of elevation at completion while the bottom of the pond is 700 feet.

“One of the newer things we do today is put chimney drains in to protect the dam, since it is a Category One dam, because there could be potential damage if it [dam] blew out,” Buford continued. “The chimney pipes are designed to help protect homes downstream if the dam blows out.”

For clarification, a Category One dam is designated for safety precautions once a dam gets to a certain number of acres per feet, requiring the chimney drains.

When asked if the city would utilize the reservoir for recreational amenities once completed, Comiskey said that was something they would look at.

Once completed, the water to fill the reservoir will be pumped in from Potato Creek at the rate of 2,100 gallons a minute or nearly three million gallons a day when maximum pumping is occurring. Comiskey did note that pumping may not occur daily, especially if drought conditions dictated otherwise.