{"id":409064,"date":"2026-08-17T18:18:35","date_gmt":"2026-08-17T18:18:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/409064\/"},"modified":"2026-08-17T18:18:35","modified_gmt":"2026-08-17T18:18:35","slug":"work-to-address-dam-risk-at-buffalo-springs-lake-races-against-federal-deadline-or-county-might-need-to-refund-feds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/409064\/","title":{"rendered":"Work to address dam risk at Buffalo Springs Lake races against federal deadline, or county might need to refund feds"},"content":{"rendered":"

The deadline to rehabilitate the \u201chigh risk\u201d McMillan Dam at Buffalo Springs Lake is the end of this year. Otherwise, Lubbock County might need to repay the federal government roughly $7 million in ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funding.<\/p>\n

Work is currently underway to widen the dam \u2013 from a 2-to-1 ratio to 3-to-1 ratio earthen dam \u2013 meaning the slope will extend three feet out for every foot of height. State regulators previously categorized McMillan as high risk (which we explain further below).<\/p>\n

County Commissioners in late July got an update on the work from Casey Klingensmith, a board member with Lubbock County Water Control and Improvement District No. 1 (WCID). WCID oversees the lake.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs far as the project itself goes, according to contract, they\u2019re on target to complete. They\u2019re saying early November, so we have a nice little cushion there,\u201d Klingensmith said.<\/p>\n

The work included grubbing, which is the removal trees, bushes and other things that might like to grow on the downstream embankment of the dam. Crews are also trucking in dirt from another site, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything seems to be rolling along quite nicely,\u201d Klingensmith said.<\/p>\n

No time for money trouble<\/p>\n

Questions were raised about the paperwork since the project is funded with a federal ARPA grant.<\/p>\n

Kathy Williams, county auditor, told Klingensmith, \u201cIt\u2019s been brought to my attention over the last couple of weeks that we are in non-compliance \u2026 as far as your subcontractors go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Williams mentioned a specific set of federal rules called 2 C.F.R. Part 200. She wanted assurance subcontractors were not on a federal disqualification list. Subcontractors also need a federal SAM or System for Award Management account, according to County Judge Curtis Parrish. That needs to be double-checked, he said.<\/p>\n

Klingensmith told Williams, \u201cWe\u2019re just going to modify, I believe, an agreement between the water district and the county to get that into compliance.\u201d<\/p>\n

(It was later clarified in the meeting the adjustment should be between the district and the main contractor.)<\/p>\n

LubbockLights.com reached out to Williams and Klingensmith by email and repeatedly by phone to see if things have been ironed out yet. We have not heard back.<\/p>\n

When LubbockLights.com reached out to Jason Corley, county commissioner, whose district the dam is in, said this is a relatively easy thing to straighten out. He anticipated work would be done and payments would be made before the federal deadline.<\/p>\n

Parrish said the federal deadline is his biggest concern and told LubbockLights.com, \u201cThe bills need to be paid. Everything needs to be done by the end of the year.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf all the invoices have not been paid by the end of December, then potentially that money can be clawed back, brought back by the Treasury Department. If we\u2019re going to take their money, you got to take their strings. That\u2019s the bottom line to that,\u201d Parrish said.<\/p>\n

LubbockLights.com learned as of Thursday, work on the dam was continuing while officials continued with contract modifications to ensure federal requirements are met.<\/p>\n

Safety issue<\/p>\n

McMillan Dam did not meet the state\u2019s flood criteria, according to a 2011 Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) inspection.<\/p>\n

McMillan Dam was also identified \u201cas high risk by TCEQ,\u201d according to a more recent Texas water plan report.<\/p>\n

Corley wanted to clarify the safety issue, saying, \u201cThere was never any failure or anything wrong with the dam.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDams at the time of its construction had a 2-to-1 safety factor. \u2026 So now what is considered the new standard is to go into 3-to-1,\u201d Corley said.<\/p>\n

\u201cNothing\u2019s wrong, nothing\u2019s changed. It\u2019s just the new standard,\u201d Corley added during the commissioners meeting.<\/p>\n

Parrish asked if there would be a safety reassessment after the work is completed.<\/p>\n

Klingensmith answered, \u201cMy assumption would be \u2018yes,\u2019 sir. Freese and Nichols [a Lubbock engineering firm] is definitely leading the charge on all of that. \u2026 Their engineering studies [are] quite in depth, and so they\u2019ll want final approval that everything was done the way it was supposed to.\u201d<\/p>\n

The McMillan project will also address underground springs.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou had spring water popping up underneath the dam. \u2026 There was never any leaks going through the dam of actual lake water,\u201d Corley told fellow commissioners.<\/p>\n

If water seeps under the dam, it can cause erosion. The fix for spring water coming up from under the dam is something called a French drain.<\/p>\n

A French drain catches the water and gives it a safe path out \u2013 reducing the risk of dangerous erosion.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat water will be collected and then put back into the creek,\u201d Corley said.<\/p>\n

\n\tRelated\n<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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