Michael Baker’s involvement in the rehabilitation of Lake Loramie Dam was recognized by ACEC Pennsylvania with a 2019 Honor Award.
The rehabilitation of this Class I dam was undertaken as part of a statewide initiative by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) to repair and rehabilitate state-owned dams to ensure the safety of Ohio’s lakes and surrounding communities.
Michael Baker provided engineering services to replace the dam’s existing structurally deficient spillway with a labyrinth spillway. Services included site and geotechnical investigation, hydrologic and hydraulic analysis, permitting, dam inspection, rehabilitation design, instrumentation implementation and construction management and inspection services.
The new labyrinth spillway consists of a zigzag-shaped concrete structure designed to convey large flows of water at low heads by increasing the effective length of the weir, or dam, crest with respect to the channel width. This allows passage of larger flood flows without increasing lake levels and impacting surrounding properties. The Lake Loramie labyrinth weir is one of the first of its kind to be built and commissioned in an Ohio state park.