Leak from cracked pipe in Marion's Lake George levee repaired by diving team

The city of Marion says they dealt with another minor water emergency at Lake George this month.

Mayor D'Anna Browning posted on her official Facebook page that on April 17 she was notified of a "major leak" around a pipe at the Lake George levee that was apparently allowing a flow of sludge into Old City Lake, which is now Marion's primary water source.

She said Kentucky Emergency Management teamed with the state Department of Water and Schnabel Engineering to redirect the flow away from Old City Lake with sandbags, rock and an excavator.

It was determined that the old pipe was cracked inside the levee, and the sludge of "organic material" from inside the levee was being drawn out by the leaking water.

Earlier this week, a more permanent repair was made when a commercial diving crew from Marine Solutions, Inc. attached a cover plate over the inlet valve of the cracked pipe in the Lake George levee. That resulted in an almost complete stop of water flowing from the pipe.

Mayor Browning wrote that it's thought the damaged pipe could be responsible for the original damage to the levee that suffered a large sinkhole one year ago.  Response to the sinkhole required a controlled breach and loss of tens of millions of gallons of water for Marion.

Long term remedies for Marion's water situation are still being formulated by the city and the state of Kentucky.



(Photo: Mayor's Office - City of Marion)