The repair of Spa Lake Dam has temporarily been put on hold, due to the large amount of rain that has fallen over the past week.

According to Russellville Mayor Gene Zick, the lake has gone up 12 feet from it's drained level of 15 feet. The city began draining the lake early this month to expose the lower parts of the earthen dam.

The city of Russellville, which owns the lake, closed it Wednesday, Dec. 2 because a lot of preparation work had to be completed before Tuesday, Dec. 11, when the actual repairs were supposed to begin.

Zick said the city was able to get the prep work finished before the rains came.

Trucks will be bringing in grout that will be pumped into directly into the hole in the dam - and if all goes well - the grout will harden and repair the breach.

The dam's integrity is in danger because of a leak caused by erosion from continuous draining into a sinkhole in the lake near the face of the dam.

A diver was brought in Dec. 5 to work on the gate which is used to drain the lake. The gate had problems opening all the way but after a few bolts were replaced, the gate can now open fully. Zick said the gate is wide open and draining into a nearby spring will hopefully help elevate the mounting rain.

In September the state allocated $100,000 in funding to the city of Russellville to help repair the lake's dam.

Spa Lake supplies approximately 1.5 million gallons of water per day to the area's largest manufacturer, Logan Aluminum, who is now temporarily getting its water from Lake Herndon (Boy Scout Lake) until the Spa Lake Dam repairs are complete.

Spa is a watershed lake built in 1975 for several purposes, Watershed protection, flood control and water supply

The lake is about three miles long, 26.5 feet deep at the suction point, covers 240 acres and holds over one billion gallons of water under normal conditions.

Zick said as soon as they have a dry day and the trucks can roll then the work will begin.