KENTUCKY DAM REHABILITATION CITED IN NATIONAL ENGINEERING COMPETITION

Schnabel Engineering of Greensboro, N.C., has earned a National Recognition Award for exemplary engineering achievement in the American Council of Engineering Companies’ (ACEC) 56^th annual Engineering Excellence Awards (EEA) for the Bullock Pen Lake Dam Rehabilitation Project in Crittenden, Ky.

Decades of erosion along the dam’s elevated rock spillway made the project the top priority of state’s dam repair program. Schnabel’s rehabilitation strategy included construction of a 12.5-cycle, 260-foot-wide, reinforced concrete labyrinth spillway over the dam embankment, including a reinforced concrete stepped chute and stilling basin. This passive labyrinth spillway system was sized to pass precipitation from the most intense storms without overtopping the dam, while also meeting upstream and downstream flooding goals.

Other modifications included leveling the top of dam, pressure grouting the rock foundation in the existing spillway, installation of a permanent siphon to replace the existing outmoded drain, and various other site improvements that will enhance dam operations and maintenance activities. These features were designed to be constructed within a constrained area with limited access, while also maintaining the dam’s function and safety throughout the project.

The project is among 179 EEA entries this year representing engineering excellence from throughout the nation and the world. Judging for the awards program—known industry-wide as the “Academy Awards of the engineering industry”– took place in March and was conducted by a national 27-member panel of built environment leaders, along with experts from government, the media and academia. Award criteria focused on uniqueness and originality, technical innovation, social and economic value, and generating excitement for the engineering profession.

Recognition of all 2023 award winners, including top winners—16 Honor Awards, 8 Grand Awards and the prestigious “Grand Conceptor Award” for the year’s most outstanding overall engineering achievement—will take place at the annual EEA Gala Dinner and Awards Program, a black-tie event to be held Tuesday, June 13, 2023, at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Washington, D.C.

The American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) is the business association of America’s engineering industry, representing more than 5,200 independent engineering firms and more than 600,000 professionals throughout the United States engaged in the development of America’s transportation, water and energy infrastructure, along with environmental, industrial and other public and private facilities. Founded in 1906 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., ACEC is a national federation of 52 state and regional organizations.