Dam: Rocky future on a roll
By ANITA MILLER - News Editor San Marcos Daily Record
Posted: Friday, Mar 24, 2006 - 04:18:08 pm CST

One fence was going up and another was coming down Thursday as the project to transform the area of Rio Vista Dam into a series of artificial rapids got under way.

On the Cheatham Street side of the river, workers were putting up fences around the area where the river's main flow will be diverted through a pipe, while on the park side, crews began taking down the old iron fences.

Public access will be barred on both sides of the river until the project is completed, something city officials say can happen by the projected finish date of Memorial Day weekend.

"It's important that the public stay away from the dam during the project. It will not be a place that is safe to be in," said Melissa Millecam, spokeswoman for the city.

"They will work as fast as they can and I think we will have a beautiful outcome Memorial Day."

Two separate teams will be doing the work. On the park side, the concrete retaining walls where murals are now painted will be coming down and the gazebo above them removed.

Coldwater Dozing, contractor for that project, said a sloping and terraced area will range from the river's bank up to near existing parking spaces. City planners say they envision that as sunbathing space.

On the Cheatham Street side, the small spillway adjacent to the River Pub & Grill was opened up briefly mid-week, but on Thursday, workers replaced a board in the spillway.

On both sides of the river, the project will result in a number of trees being cut down. City officials say they are mostly hackberry and ligustrum.

Once a trench is dug and the pipe installed on the street side, the area behind the dam will be "dewatered" so boulders can be placed.

When completed, the area will have a series of three rapids, each with a two-foot drop, which planners say will maintain the water level where the dam now stands - something that is essential for the survival of stands of federally endangered Texas Wild Rice that live upstream.

Since cracks in the dam were found to be widening in November - when the public was barred from the area - volunteers with the San Marcos River Foundation have been monitoring water levels and are poised to help relocate the plants if they become threatened.

The presence of the Texas Wild Rice, as well as other endangered species that live in the river, mean the dam project required permits from many state and federal agencies.

Officials say that permitting resulted in the project's being delayed from the planned start date of March 1.

Millecam, quoting contractors, said it's expected to take about two weeks to install the diversion pipe.