USACE has said that later this year it may lower the reservoir level to 198m from the present drawn down elevation of about 207m. EKPC has been concerned over the risk to flows to its 341MW John Sherman Cooper plant, which cannot operate should the reservoir level fall to 206m, the intakes being at 204m.
EKPC has proposed an emergency water intake system costing US$24M that will also reduce the rate of water use at Cooper plant. Seven barge-mounted pumps costing US$8M will supply water to the flow-through cooling system of the plants two generating sets. The cooling tower is to cut the plant’s overall water use by more than half.
The Kentucky Public Service Commission (KPSC) recognised EKPC’s argument that it would be forced to buy more expensive electricity on the market should Cooper be unable to be used. The company also takes part of the relatively inexpensive output from USACE’s own plant at the 270MW Wolf Creek dam at the reservoir, which would also suffer from possible further draw down.
Safety fears over foundation seepage at the 1748m long Wolf Creek dam have been the focus of USACE’s efforts at Lake Cumberland for months. An accelerated grouting programme is underway. The rolled earth fill and concrete gravity has been plagued by seepage problems due to underlying karst limestone since the late 1960s.
