In October 2024, a routine dive inspection revealed a shocking truth: the critical gate of the Turkey Creek Dam—untouched and unseen for over half a century—needed dire repairs to fix it. This discovery launched the urgent, three-month Turkey Creek Dam Restoration Project, summarized in this report. Between July and September 2025, a specialized team from Advanced Diving Inc., working under the Turkey Creek Dam and Dike Conservation District, executed a much needed maintenance and restoration effort to secure the dam’s future, addressing decay, structural flaws, and decades of neglect.
This report summarizes the maintenance, repairs, and restoration work performed on the Turkey Creek Dam by Advanced Diving Inc. between July and September 2025. The project was carried out under the direction of Willian Pipp and the Turkey Creek Dam and Dike Conservation District.
Onsite Personnel
- Paul Chlebowski
- Paul Ford
- Jacob Ford
- Dave Pritz
- Skyler Daisy
- Tim Saylor
Project Overview
The need for this work was identified during a dive inspection in October 2024, the first comprehensive inspection of the gate area in over 50 years. A plan was then established to prioritize repairs and extend the life of the dam structure.
The overall restoration was divided into three main areas:
- Gate cleaning and repair
- Concrete restoration and coating
- Downstream retaining walls
1. Gate Cleaning and Repair
- Problems Found During Initial Inspection:
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- Severe Decay: The metal hold-down bars on the gates were badly decayed.
- Sealing Issues: The sealant (chinking) between the side angle and the pier wall was missing in places.
- Bottom Seal: The bottom rubber seal was old, cracked, and showed signs of aging.
- Friction and Wear: The gate had a “steel-on-steel” seating, which caused excessive wear and resulted in a poor seal.
- Stress: The block-type bottom seal did not allow for compression, putting undue stress on the gate stem and lifting components.
- Structural Flaw: The top third of the gate showed deflection because the internal stiffeners stopped 24 inches from the top edge.
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- Repairs and Improvements Made:
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- Access: A cofferdam was used to drain and seal the area, allowing the gate to be removed for thorough inspection and repair.
- Hold-down Bars: Old, corroded hold-down bars were removed and replaced.
- Seating Surface: The old steel gate spacer was removed and replaced with a custom-made piece of UHMW (Ultra High Molecular Weight polyethylene). This material acts as both a spacer and a superior wear/sealing surface.
- Bottom Seal: The old block seal was replaced with a bulb-type seal to allow for compression, which relieves pressure on the gate stem.
- Structural Rigidity: A new 3×3 Stainless Steel angle was added near the top edge of the gate to add rigidity to the upper third.
- Sealing: Side angles were cleaned and coated, and missing chinking was replaced and capped with hydraulic cement.
- Monitoring: An indicator was installed on the downstream side to show the gate’s position.
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2. Concrete Restoration and Coating
- Cleaning and Repair: Concrete pier walls (upstream and downstream), the upper structure, and the spillway were cleaned, and necessary repairs (concrete spalls and cracks) were completed.
- Protective Coating: All repaired concrete areas were coated with three coats of SEMCO coating, following the manufacturer’s recommendations.
- Other Work: The control building was cleaned. Separate contractors handled the electrical service upgrade and roof repair.
3. Downstream Walls
- The downstream retaining walls were cleaned, inspected, and minor cracks were repaired.
- The walls were then coated with the SEMCO coating, which also covered the old paint and underlying graffiti.
See below for photos from this project:
