What are the reasons that the lake might need to be lowered further?

Every effort will be made during the rehabilitation work to not lower the lake any further; however, there are scenarios that might necessitate additional drainage of the lake.

Specifically, as the earthen buttress is rebuilt on the downstream side of the dam, the DSOD has specific requirements on the control of water seepage. If water seepage levels cannot be maintained at an adequate level through extraction, conditions of stability may force added lowering of the lake to meet the construction requirements.