After having served the residents of Danville and surrounding areas with a place to boat, fish and have a good water supply for the last 95 years, the gates of the dam holding up Lake Vermilion should be able to hold up for another century.
Aqua Illinois joined with local officials to celebrate the completion of the $12 million dam renovation project, which saw all of the dam’s 11 gates replaced for the first time.
Bob Ervin, the former Danville Aqua manager who now serves as director of statewide operations, says the project involved the replacement of the dam’s bridge deck, new walkways and stairs and lighting. As the gates, he says they are relatively the same except for better materials.
Audio Player“Really just all new materials, more structurally suitable for the operations. It’s almost a 100-year-old structure.”
The dam project took several months to complete, and Ervin said it was finished last week.
Craig Blanchette, president of Aqua Illinois, said the renovation is one of the most significant the company has undertaken in recent years.
Ervin says crews will perform frequent maintenance to ensure the lake stays for a long time.
Audio Player“We do annual inspections. We do those internally and do external inspections every three to five years, so a good trend on the work and condition of the dam and the gates.”
Aqua was able to complete the project without lowering the lake’s water level.
