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Lake of the Laurels Dam History

The Laurels, a residential community consisting of 88 homes in central Spotsylvania County, Virginia, is situated between Brock Road and Lake Anna Parkway.  The community was designed and developed 35 years ago. Central to the community is a small, man-made lake of approximately 10 surficial acres, with an estimated 123 acre-feet impounded by an earthen dam. The lake and the dam were designed and constructed by Knisely and Associates around 1990 for recreational use and flood control.  The dam is located in-line with an unnamed tributary of the Po River.

     The Laurels Dam consists of a 480' long and 20.6' high earthen embankment with a crest elevation of 272.4’ There is an adjacent 20' wide trapezoidal vegetated emergency spillway. A 5' diameter CMP riser and 5' diameter CMP conduit from the principal spillway (with a normal pool elevation of 267.2’) which discharges into a riprap and weathered rock-lined downstream channel. The dam embankment provides approximately 57 acre-feet of flood storage volume at the top of dam. 

     Analysis of the current spillway and embankment determined that the existing Laurels Dam is undersized, with a maximum capacity of about 47% of the PMP. Additionally, the orignial metal trash rack cap, riser, slip line and pipe and, as expected, have exceeded their expected life span; all are in need of replacement.

Current Lake of Laurels Dam Situation 

  • DCR (Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation) monitors all public and private dams

  • 2016 state dam safety regulations updated-PMP values (probable maximum precipitation); this resulted in all dams in Virginia undergoing re-assessment for safety and ensuring all dams were in compliance with state regulations

  • Our dam was classified as “high hazard” following a Dewberry evaluation with a Dam Break Inundation Study in August of 2018

    • This classification is NOT related to the physical condition of the dam or the probability of failure; it is based entirely on If the dam were to fail during a major storm event, the severity of downstream effects on homes, lives, roads, bridges, etc.

  • The LHOA Board worked with Dewberry Engineering for a number of years to develop options in order to bring our dam into compliance with the state regulations

    • LHOA Board voted in September of 2019 on an option to retrofit the dam to meet state regulations (all engineering reports are posted below Dam Information tab)

  • Remediation of our dam will be expensive and complicated

  • The LHOA (this means all homeowners) is financially responsible for maintaining the dam

    • ​The Virginia Dam Safety Act reflects legal precedent in the state (VA Supreme Court case Cooper vs. Horn, 1994). Responsibility for damage caused by dam failure lies with the owner of the dam because “[n]o one shall maintain a dam which unreasonably threatens the life or property of another.” Va. Code §10.1-607.

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