CRESTVIEW — A summer morning's stillness once again reflects in Grandview Pond as the water level rises to its previous height.
The north Crestview pond, one of several in the Grandview Heights neighborhood, drained when its dam collapsed in the aftermath of an April 29-30, 2014 storm.
Just less than a year later, workers from Westerra Development began restoring the breach on the dam’s south end, including replacing the spill pipe.
Construction began April 28. The project start date was critical, Grandview Heights Homeowners’ Association President Gary Johnson stated in a message to members on the organization’s website.
“If the construction is not started within a year, the state Environmental Protection Agency may recover the lake area as wetlands area,” his message stated. “This means we would not be able to reestablish the lake, which would affect everyone’s property value regardless of if you live on the lake.”
The subdivision’s 172 lot owners were each assessed $350 per lot in January when a 1993 dam repair fund established by an assessment of $100 per home owner was insufficient to fix the breach.
“Sadly, the inflation of our economy has caused this fund to fall short of the required funds to implement required repairs,” Johnson stated.
His web posts stated that the homeowners’ association tried to find federal, state and county grants before assessing homeowners for the dam repair.
"The lake is full of water and the dam is working as designed," Johnson said in an email to the News Bulletin.
Since the pond started refilling more than two weeks ago, properties lining its banks once more overlook a body of water rather than a grassy wetland.
Email News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: With dam repaired, Grandview Pond refills after April 2014 storm