BARNSDALL, Okla. — The Waxhoma Lake Dam breach has been a long time coming for Barnsdall Mayor Johnny Kelley.
"I knew this was going to happen," Kelley said. "I told them. I've been telling them. First time we had a rain of any magnitude, it was absolutely going to happen."
On the morning of April 30, Kelley and his team discovered the breach, and they've been working on it ever since. His frustration comes from a years-long battle to get the dam permanently fixed. Four years ago, an emergency project temporarily fixed the dam.
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NATURE STRIKES AGAIN: Barnsdall faces flooding after Waxhoma dam breach
"The problem is we've been in a drought the last several years," Kelley said. "And everybody just kind of kicked the can down the road because there wasn't anything to worry about if we didn't have any rain."
The mayor added, "I explained it several times that this was going to happen, and here we are."
It's a complicated process, which requires funding from the government and plans from an engineer that align with both those funds and current regulations and requirements. I spoke with a representative from Keithline Engineering to get their input.
"The funding for this project is through like five or six government agencies," the representative said. "So when you have that many people with their finger in the pie, it's very cumbersome."
As it stands, the final engineering plans should come out May 7. From there, the city goes through a bidding process that can take up to a month.
The actual dam repair could take anywhere from three to nine months.
"This absolutely has an effect on flood control downstream for our neighbors in Avant and Skiatook," Kelley said. "Unfortunately, it took this to make it happen. But I believe it's going to happen now."
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