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Judge rules for Eagle in dam dispute; commissioners warned lake could lose high-water mark by July 21, 2027
Summary
Regina, the dam committee’s public outreach coordinator, told the Village of Holly Parks Commission that a judge ruled against local interests in a dispute with Eagle, leaving a forced drawdown in place and creating a July 21, 2027 deadline to restore lake levels or risk losing the ordinary high water mark.
Regina, the public outreach coordinator for the dam committee, told the Village of Holly Parks Commission on Oct. 1 that a judge issued a ruling in favor of Eagle in a recent case, leaving a forced lake drawdown in place.
"Unfortunately the judge did rule against us and in favor of Eagle," Regina said, describing the court outcome and its immediate consequences for the lake level and shoreline conditions. She said the ruling leaves conditions "where it was before" and that Eagle has been "completely silent" about guidance for repairs or mitigation.
The committee is pursuing two parallel tracks: gathering signatures to form a legal lake committee or to establish a legal lake level, and seeking county assistance and engineering support for repairs. Regina said the group is "really just down to you know under 10 signatures needed at this point" to move the county-based option forward.
Commissioners were told a county water resources deadline could mean the village loses its ordinary high water mark if the lake is not restored by July 21, 2027 — two years from the initial drawdown. Regina said that outcome would be irreversible for the community’s lake level and warned of increased erosion and exposed embankments.
The committee reported prior soil borings and studies from 2005 identifying problem areas, and said they have a volunteer with mining- and construction-industry contacts working to recruit engineers willing to evaluate the site. Regina described the project as a "big undertaking" with costs that could be "tens of thousands of dollars" and stressed the county’s experience in multi-jurisdictional water-resource work.
The committee is also preparing a letter to Commissioner Bob Hoffman to request that the Board of Commissioners take up the issue and consider county involvement. Regina said engineering firms face legal and liability questions and that county engineering capacity would be useful in managing both technical repairs and the multi-jurisdictional permitting and funding issues.
Next steps reported to the commission include continuing to collect signatures for the legal-lake approach, pursuing county engagement through Commissioner Hoffman, and seeking engineering assessments; no specific contract awards or funding decisions were made at the meeting.
The Parks Commission did not vote on a formal motion related to the dam at the Oct. 1 meeting. The committee described the timeline and options it is pursuing but said formal actions and funding requests will follow as assessments and county communications progress.
