Flood of reaction spills from small lake’s dam
2001-04-11
By Gregory Potts, Staff Writer
A dam at a small lake in northwest Oklahoma City could fail if not
repaired, the Oklahoma Water Resources Board said Tuesday. The board
ordered that the lake’s three owners repair or remove the dam at Knight
Lake, which is near Lyrewood Lane and Wilshire Boulevard between MacArthur
and Rockwell avenues.
The property is owned by Lyrewood Pointe Apartments, Lakeside Village
Properties and Oklahoma County.
The board also ordered the depth of the four-acre lake lowered by
5 feet by the end of the month. This is a safety precaution until
the property owners find a solution for the earthen dam, which the
board said has deficiencies that “impermissibly increase the risk”
of flooding. Deficiencies include erosion and settling. Jerry Barnett,
an examiner at the Water Resources Board, downplayed the possibility
of any immediate danger. Barnett said the facility poses “no imminent
peril to the public health or welfare.” But action must be taken now,
Barnett said, noting that April and May are the rainiest months of
the year.
Repair of the dam could be complicated if the owners cannot agree
on the proper course of action. Fred Mazahery, owner of Lyrewood Pointe
Apartments, complained about what he claims is a lack of cooperation
from the county. “We’ve been trying to fix that, but the county doesn’t
want to spent any money,” Mazahery said. Mazahery said he is committed
to repairing the dam. He said he has an estimate that repair work
would cost about $70,000. “We want to take care of it one way
or the other,” Mazahery said. “I’d like to save the lake and I’d like
to save the dam.”
Harry Fenton, a spokesman for the county, disagreed with Mazahery.
He said the county has not yet met with the other property owners,
but recognizes its legal responsibility to cooperate. Fenton said
the county took possession of its portion of the property as a result
of the previous owner not paying property taxes. He said that the
county’s portion is inaccessible by any roads. “We can’t even get
to our property without trespassing,” Fenton said. Fenton said the
county does not want the property, but has been unsuccessful in finding
a party to sell or even to give the property to. The Water Resources
Board said repairs are long overdue. It noted a “high” hazard potential
when it inspected the dam in 1981 and reinspected in 1990, 1992 and
1994.
