JEFFERSONVILLE, NY — The Lake Jeff Dam has withstood hundred-year floods, but time itself could prove its undoing.

The privately-owned concrete dam, almost a century old, is now in need of repair. Without that work, federal and state agencies have said the dam could be breached, ultimately draining the lake and turning it back into the creek it used to be. 

Sixty-five percent of recorded dams are more than 50 years old, according to a report by the Center for American Progress. At that age, they develop cracks, rust and leaks, requiring frequent care to keep them going.

The Lake Jeff Dam was damaged in 2006, during the flood. That was repaired. But over time, more problems have surfaced, and they all need to be dealt with. 

“We’re currently in an engineering assessment,” Andrew Weinstein, chair of the Lake Jeff Conservation Organization (LJCO), said. After it, “we’ll understand what we’ll face in terms of repairs.”

The LJCO wants to save the lake by repairing the dam and to preserve the environmental and flood control benefits that the lake gives the village, according to their website. 

Some issues are known. One of the most pressing is the repairs to the spillway, which allows water to leave the reservoir in a safe and controlled manner. But more work than that is likely needed and, without being sure of the full extent of repairs, the LJCO couldn’t put a solid dollar figure on the cost. 

Maybe $200,000? Perhaps more? 

It all depends. All they can do is wait, raise funds and line up people to help.

The lake and its dam

“Ownership of the dam and the lake is split,” Weinstein said.

Once they were a package, belonging to the owner the Lake Jeff Hotel. The dam came first, in 1927, and the hotel soon after. Visitors could swim in the lake, or fish, or just relax. 

When the hotel fell on hard times, it sold the dam to Malcolm Brown, who started radio station WJFF and used hydropower from the dam to run the station. 

The hotel itself closed in 1998 and the building burned down in 2002. The current owner of the land also retained the lake. 

“What we want to do is save the lake,” said Meghan Mullally-Gorr, the spokesperson for the Lake Jeff Conservation Organization. “It’s been there 90 years; a whole new ecosystem has formed.”

Trout swim there, and bass and pickerel, said Weinstein. “There’s a beaver colony.”  

Without the repairs, the dam could be breached, said Mullally-Gorr. “There would not be a lake anymore.” 

What would happen to the ecosystem is unknown.

Saving the dam

In 2019, Weinstein had been thinking about the overlook at Lake Jefferson, and he stopped in at the village office and got talking to the clerk. She told him about the situation with the dam. 

He contacted property owners around the lake, and by January 2020, the Lake Jeff Conservation Organization was on its way. It’s applying for 501(c)(3) status.

“We’re a project for the betterment of the village,” he said. “The lake is a kind of emblem of the village, a symbol of the town.” The lake still draws tourists, even without the hotel. And the dam, of course, is vital. Losing the dam, losing the lake “would be a significant blow to civic pride and economic health.” 

What’s ahead

The regulations surrounding dams are a little byzantine. One advantage in this case, though, Weinstein said, is that the LJCO can take over care of the dam from the owners without actually taking ownership. It would be responsible for the repairs. 

Ultimately, they hope to fall under the oversight of the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation. Right now, it’s under the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. 

In the meantime, the LJCO is waiting to hear about the scope of the repairs. They’ve raised some money during the village’s tractor parade, Mullally-Gorr said. Once they can take over the repairs, the group can apply for grants. 

Matching funds will be needed, though, so the LJCO will keep fundraising.

What else can people do to help? “Spread the word. Share it on social media. Make sure your family and friends are aware,” said Mullally-Gore. In-kind donations are welcome, too. Volunteers can help raise money or do the work: “provide the manpower when work needs to be done. 

“For the village’s sake, for the wildlife’s sake, [the lake] needs to be saved.” 

Learn more and support the cause at www.lakejeff.org.