Birmingham water board resumes $28M repair on leaking dam: ‘Not safe enough’

The Birmingham Water Works will resume repair work on the Lake Purdy Dam.Contributed, Birmingham Water Works

Work to repair and strengthen a leaking dam that provides drinking water to several Birmingham area suburbs will restart after being halted over cost concerns.

Leaders of Birmingham’s regional water board on Monday evening agreed to continue the $28 million first phase to repair Lake Purdy in Shelby County just days after pausing the construction.

“The board recognizes the seriousness of this project,” said board member Phillip Wiedmeyer, a former engineer with Alabama Power. “We are certainly concerned about the safety of the public and we are not going to take any action that is going to jeopardize that.”

Lake Purdy Dam was classified as a high hazard by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers due to the catastrophic impact that a breach would have on nearby communities.

Repair work is intended to protect the major drinking water supply source for suburban Birmingham communities including Homewood, Hoover, Mountain Brook and Vestavia Hills.

Water works leaders have long discussed the need for repairs at Lake Purdy Dam. Still, some board members told AL.com that there remain concerns over the overall cost of the project, previous assessments of the structure, and how the utility would pay for recommended repairs and improvements.

The former Birmingham water board in 2024 approved a $78.7 million contract to Thalle Construction Company and $6.8 million in management fees for Arcadis, Schnabel and A.G Gaston Construction.

Much of that project was to be financed through bond proceeds along with a $171 million loan program through the federal Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act loan.

Current leaders of the new water board question the structure of the federal loan.

Board chairman Tommy Hudson on Monday evening said General Manager Mac Underwood would return with possible options to restructure the loan.

The unanimous vote to resume work came after board members met in a closed-door executive session that lasted about 40 minutes.

“It’s a good possibility that we’ll be discussing the good name and character of one or more individuals,” Wiedmeyer said.

Regardless, members agreed that current work must continue, especially since some site preparation has further weakened the century-old structure during the construction process.

Halting construction and restoring the area to previous conditions would also cost about $10 million, officials have said.

Patrick Flannelly, an engineer with ARCADIS North America, the water work’s independent engineering firm, had urged them to resume work on the dam.

“Failure of this dam results in possible loss of life,” Flannelly told board members during a work session last Wednesday. “This dam is not safe enough.”

While some work could be delayed, Flannelly last week urged the board to take immediate action to fortify the dam to prevent an overflow disaster that would impact thousands of homes.

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