The Narrows Dam Day Use Area pavilion and swim beaches at Lake Greeson closed to the public on Feb. 16 and with access to the area to be restricted until work is complete on the dam’s trash racks.
The “No Boats” area in front of the dam has also been extended to include the entire work area. Also, a “No Ski” area will be established to help reduce wave action within the work area.
After more than a year since halting hydropower production, work on Narrows Dam’s trash rack system is set in February and will take approximately seven months to complete, according to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Vicksburg District.
More than one year ago, during maintenance activities on the trash racks at Narrows Dam at Lake Greeson, USACE identified a need for repairs to the metal structure supporting the trash racks. Trash racks are metal grates preventing large debris from entering and damaging the turbans used for creating hydropower, and do not affect the integrity or effectiveness of Narrows Dam.
As a precautionary measure, Narrows Dam halted hydropower generation until repairs are completed. These repairs are essential to ensuring the uninterrupted and safe production of hydropower in the future.
This cessation has not impacted the ability to carry out flood risk management or other missions of the Narrows Dam/Lake Greeson Project. Water releases like these are executed through the structure to maintain adequate flood control capability. A significant drawdown of Lake Greeson is not anticipated to perform the repairs.
