Medford Township Ordinance 2005-26
Picture 7C
This is a picture of the Upper (Birchwood) Lake dam weeks after the flood. The berm on the south side of the concrete spillway had been washed away during the flood but the bulkheading had held. It was decided that the Upper Lake (well after the flood) had to be drained completely. To do this, a machine was brought in and the bulkheading on the south side of the spillway (both on the lake side and on the down stream side) was torn away. This caused the stream flow to circumvent the dam structure. The flow further eroded the berm. BLCC became concerned that this ever enlarging breech could soon undermine the concrete spillway. BLCC applied for and received permission to sandbag the concrete structure so that the creek flow was directed away from it. So far, over 1,000 sandbags have been placed around the spillway. This sandbag work is shown in picture 8. The pipe on the right side of the picture and the concrete tower to the left of it are the normal drain used for lowering the lake. The concrete tower contains the boards that control the drain.