Public Hearing Wednesday on Lake Alice Dam Remediation Plan

A public hearing will be held on Wednesday night concerning the remediation plan to address the impact of last May’s breach of the Lake Alice Dam.

The hearing will begin at 6 p.m. at Cumming City Hall, located at 100 Main Street.

The remediation plan, proposed by the City of Cumming and the Marcus Mashburn, Jr. and Alice S. Mashburn Family Trusts, was submitted to the Georgia Environmental Protection Division of the Department of Natural Resources last month.

The Lake Alice Dam—between Market Place to the west, Sanders Road to the east, Buford Dam Road to the south and Mary Alice Park Road to the north—gave way to the water the morning of May 19, and Lake Alice flooded into Lake Lanier.

More than three months later, the state of Georgia stepped in to require a resolution for a Lanier cove now clouded with sediment as a result. 

Cumming's city council approved an agreement with the Mashburn family, who owned a large portion of 75-year-old dam, to share responsibility for it, assess the damage and come up with a plan to fix the sediment problem that resulted in the Lanier cove.

It’s hoped that after months of talks and planning that the repairs can soon commence.

Rather than replace the dam, the plan calls for the Mashburn family to install a weir structure, which will pool water behind it while also permitting it to flow steadily over the top.

Once the barrier, which is smaller than most dams, can stem sediment from the lake’s bed from Lake Lanier, the city would then be given the task of dredging and cleaning the cove.