Flint, MI — The City of Flint has hired Fischer Contracting and is working to contact a dive team after a leak was discovered in the Kearsley Reservoir, causing the water level to drop more than three feet overnight.
Flint crews and equipment were on-site at the Kearsley Reservoir on July 12, 2024, and were able to dislodge the debris stuck under the gate and tamp it down.
Officials said this was too dangerous to attempt in the dark overnight.
This is being treated as an emergency repair because the Sluice Gate cannot close all the way. The Sluice Gate is essential for controlling the Kearsley Reservoir’s water level through automation from the Water Treatment Plant operation center.
The gate also releases excess water during heavy rain to prevent the reservoir from flooding.
On July 11, 2024, Flint Water staff released water through the South Lift Gate at the reservoir to prevent flooding from Hurricane Beryl’s heavy tropical rains when the gate became clogged with debris and could not be completely lowered.
Since July 6, 2024, Flint has been working to fix a leak in the Kearsley Dam’s Sluice Gate, which caused the Kearsley Reservoir to drop about one-foot last weekend. By July 9, 2024, the city was able to make a temporary modification that completely stopped the leak in the dam, but the Sluice Gate still requires repairs.
The Water Treatment Plant monitors the water levels in the Kearsley Reservoir, Holloway Reservoir, Thread Lake, Flint River, and smaller creeks in the City of Flint and can adjust the water levels remotely.
However, since the Sluice Gate at the Kearsley Reservoir has been out of service because of the needed repair, staff have had to manually make dam adjustments using large lift gates since the heavy rains began on July 9, 2024.