Lexington City Manager Tom Carroll updated City Council on the efforts to decommission and remove the Moores Creek Dam during his report at the Aug. 6 meeting.
First, he told Council that the city’s public works department had received a $500,000 grant from the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation for the project, which will cover the full cost of engineering and design work ($473,370). The city had anticipated receiving only $250,000 when preparing its budget and had budgeted $250,000 from the city utility fund to cover the additional cost. Carroll said that he intends to put that money toward water meter replacements and water tower improvements that were not included in the final FY27 budget.
Carroll also told Council that the Virginia Department of Forestry officials had recently approached the city about partnering with them for the removal of the dam. The Department of Forestry is working with the United States Forest Service and FEMA to utilize funding made available through the Hurricane Helene Relief Act to help cover the cost of removing the dam.
Carroll noted that the sinkhole that prompted discussions about the future of the dam was discovered in late 2024, after Helene impacted the region. If successful in partnering with the Department of Forestry, Carroll noted that the department would want to take ownership of the nearly 60 acres still owned by the city where the dam sits.
In 2008, the Department of Forestry purchased more than 2,000 acres of land surrounding the dam from the city and maintains it as Moores Creek State Forest.
Additionally, Carroll provided Council with a general workflow schedule of the project from the Timmons Group, the engineering firm overseeing the project for the city.
According to the schedule, planning and designing the project will occur over the next year, with the final plan review meeting and design cost summary coming in June 2027. The plan would then be put out for bids next August, with construction beginning soon after. The project is estimated to be completed in June of 2029.
Carroll noted that that timeline did not include any steps that would be taken care of by the city per the agreement with Rockbridge County that was approved earlier this year.
