MT. VERNON – The City of Mt. Vernon is alerting the public that the lake at Veterans Park is losing water quickly as the aging drawdown pipe has failed.

According to a press release from the City, last week Public Works Field Supervisor Stephen Talley noticed the lake level seemed low considering the amount of rain received over the weekend. He found that the drawdown pipe was releasing water at an alarming rate.

It was apparent that the aging infrastructure of the spillway had failed, and City crews began attempting to stop the water loss.

When the last attempt to plug the drawdown pipe failed, the decision was made to let it go and make plans to rebuild the dam and drawdown system.

The release of water has not caused any damage as the spillway and drawdown discharge goes into a waterway on the south side of Forest Street.

The dam and spillway system are about 95 years old, and the City had already written the replacement into the 10-year park improvement plan, but it’s now a priority.

According to City Manager Mary Ellen Bechtel, the City has tried to avoid a complete drawdown of the lake, but nothing has worked.

So, they’ve hired Roundtable Design to address the replacement of the dam and drawdown system for the lake. She says currently the timeline for the replacement and the cost is unknown.

Bechtel adds the priority is to get the dam and walking path replaced and a new drawdown system installed as soon as possible.

Until then, the level will be low and there could be some odor around the lake and park.