The Mathis News (Mathis, Tex.), Vol. 63, No. 12, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 20, 1986 Page: 1 of 16
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★
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
'Major Threat' To Wesley Seale Dam
Could Resurface If Plan Implemented
★
By JIM MATHIS
Editor, Mathis News
© Copyrighted 1986
A major threat to the safety of Wesley Seale Dam
j^uld resurface, with potentially catastrophic results, if a
A)posed Corpus Christi lake operation plan is im-
plemented.
The Mathis News has learned of a critical flaw in
original construction of the dam impounding Lake Corpus
Christi, that would be jeopardized by lowering the lake to
the Nueces River bed level, as proposed by a water ad-
visory commission for the City of Corpus Christi.
An engineer who was directly involved in the dam’s
construction, said he was “startled” by the proposal to
allow Lake Corpus Christi to be drastically drained during
time of drought.
At risk would be corrective measures taken during
Seale’s construction in the late 1950’s to solve problems
discovered in the installation of a “critical feature” of the
dam’s foundation, according to information revealed in
the San Antonio engineer’s report.
The Mathis News recently obtained exclusive access
^phat report.
The Mathis
Registered Professional Engineer Winston F. Bott,
now with a San Antonio firm, was in a key position with the
supervising engineering firm throughout construction of
Wesley Seale Dam.
He urges professional study and evaluation of possible
hazards involved in any plan to expose the dam to drying
conditions.
Botts’ concern is based on personal knowledge of a
“clay blanket”, which was used in an unorthodox,
emergency measure taken to seal leaks discovered in a
vital part of the dam’s foundation.
Botts made his comments in connection with the City
of Corpus Christi ad hoc Water Advisory Commission’s
proposal to change operating procedures for that city’s
two raw water reserves: Lake Corpus Christi and Choke
Canyon Reservoir.
The advisory group, chaired by Hayden Head Sr.,
recommended that the two lakes be treated as a unit, with
Lake Corpus Christi being simply a conduit of water to
Coastal Bend customers and Choke Canyon serving as the
main holding point.
Elmer Singleton, president of a non-profit group
organized to oppose draining Lake Corpus Christi, asked
NEWS35<
Botts to review the ad hoc group’s study and recommenda-
tions.
“This proposal is quite startling to me, and it suggests
that the studies supporting it may not have encompassed a
review of certain physical facts about the Wesley Seale
Dam that result from some difficulties that were en-
countered during its construction,” Botts said in his report
to Singleton and the Save Lake Corpus Christi Corporation.
Botts served as Office Engineer for the supervising
engineering firm from 1956 through 1958, during con-
struction of Wesley Seale Dam, located about three miles
west of Mathis.
“It was not widely publicized at the time, but the con-
struction contractor had major difficulties with the in-
stallation of a critical feature of the dam’s foundation,
namely the steel sheet piling cut-off wall,” Botts said.
The cut-off wall runs from one end of the dam to the
other and reaches to a depth that varies from 20 feet to 55
feet below the bottom of the concrete foundation and below
the earth embankment sections.
Purpose of the cut-off wall is to prevent leakage under
the dam’s foundation by providing a barrier that reaches a
soil level where water seepage does not occur.
“The initial pile-driving sub-contractor used a con-
troversial method that resulted in great difficulty in
achieving the required penetration of the sheet piles,”
Botts said.
Those problems caused the supervising engineers to
have doubts about the interlocking joints of the steel sheets
and about the integrity of the cut-off wall, according to
Botts.
The contractor was ordered to excavate and expose
the piling interlocks at several locations.
Botts said the excavation revealed that some of the
More Than 60 Years Of Service To Mathis And The Surrounding Area
Volume LXIII
Thursday, March 20,1986 — 16 Pages — No. 12
Mathis, Texas 78368
Chamber Names New Board Officers;
Schedules Annual April Barbeque
A first-time board of directors and
new officers were elected by
bers of the Lake Corpus Christi
Chamber of Commerce at a
luncheon meeting Monday at the
Ranch Motel Restaurant.
Recommended by out-going
Chamber president Carroll
Etheredge, the five-person board of
directors is a first for the local
chamber, which serves an area with
over 30,000 resident consumers.
Previously, the president was
responsible for day-to-day operation
of the chamber office in Mathis, as
well as difficult decision duties
without the support of a larger
governing body.
The chamber membership Mon-
day elected Leola Walbroel, Dorothy
Lake Proposal To Be
On COG Agenda Friday
Mathis Mayor James Knight and
San Patricio County Judge J.M. Ed-
mundson Jr. have been urged to take
the lead in defending Lake Corpus
Christi area interests when a con-
hM^ersial water plan comes before
|^P>oard of directors of the Coastal
Brad Council of Governments Fri-
day.
Elmer Singleton, president of
Save Lake Corpus Christi Inc., a
non-profit group formed to oppose
the plan which could allow the local
lake to be drained drastically during
drought, prodded Mayor Knight and
Judge Edmondson, “to stand up for
this section of the county and defend
our interests.”
The Council of Governments
(COG), a regional clearinghouse
through which all state and federal
grant applications must pass, also
serves as the regional planning
agency. It is apparently under the
planning function that the COG
board is being asked to endorse and
support the Corpus Christi water
supply proposals as evironmentally
sound.
Last month, Hayden Head Sr.,
chairman of the ad hoc Water Ad-
visory Commission that developed
the controversial proposals for the
Corpus Christi City Council,
presented those recommendations
See COG, Page 16
School Trustees Okay
Teachers, Bids Building
Trustees of the Mathis Indepen-
School District Monday moved,
prove all professional positions
for teachers, as presented by in-
dividual school principals, at a
regular meeting of the board.
Approval of the contracts for the
upcoming school year came after a
lengthy, closed executive session
discussion. Each of the school prin-
cipals was called in before the board
to discuss their personnel lists in
secret session, which lasted nearly
two hours.
The board approved contracts for
teachers, but stipulated that
coaching positions would be con-
sidered at a later date.
The trustees also moved to ap-
prove advertising for bids for the
construction of a warehouse-
maintenance building to be located
at the high school and the addition of
See SCHOOL. Page 16
Leland Dupont Runs For
Live Oak Co. J.P. Post
Leland Dupont has announced his
candidacy for Justice of the Peace in
Live Oak County, Precinct 1.
Dupont has lived in the Lagarto
of Live Oak Co. for the past 14
“I believe in equal and fair justice
for all and if elected, I will serve to
the best of my ability, devoting all
the time necessary to the job,” Du-
pont stated in his announcement. “I
will work with other elected county
officials to continue improving our
county.”
Dupont was born Jan. 4, 1926 and
was reared in Corpus Christi. He
was graduated from Corpus Christi
High School and was inducted into
the Army in 1944. He served with the
97th Infantry Division in Europe and
in the Pacific with the occupation
forces in Japan.
After the war he worked at the
Naval Air Station in Corpus Christi
as a planner and scheduler of
maintenance, repair and con-
struction projects. He retired from
the NAS in 1981.
Dupont remained as a member of
the Army Reserve and helped to
reorganize the National Guard in
1947, serving with the Guard as a
company commander and training
officer. In 1957 he transferred to Ar-
my Reserve Civilian Affairs Group,
serving as operations and training
officer.
During military service, Dupont
attended the infantry company of-
See DUPONT, Page 16
Keetch, Bill Janak, David Ashworth
and Etheredge to serve as its first
board of directors.
Jim Mathis, editor of The Mathis
News, was elected as new president
See CHAMBER, Page 16
HEB Bakery Opens Today,
Cake Cutting Saturday
GOODY BAKER-Ronee Luckenbach, manager of the new HEB
bakery displays some of the cakes that are being turned out fresh dai-
ly. There is a large assortment of cakes, including carrot, mocha,
whipped creme, as well as cookies, pan dulce and other sweet treats
now available in the new in-store bakery department.
All those good smells wafting from
the brand new HEB bakery have
served to build anticipation for the
opening of the bakery March 20.
Thursday will give shoppers the
first opportunity to sample the
goodies that are cooking fresh daily.
bakery has been set for 10 a.m.
Saturday morning, March 22, with a
cake cutting, featuring a giant cake
made by bakery manager Ronee
Luckenbach.
Ronee comes to the Mathis bake
shop from the new Alice HEB
Williams S. (Billy) Smith Seeks
Top Live Oak County Position
William S. (Billy) Smith is making
his bid for Live Oak County Judge
and pledges to “serve ALL the
residents of Live Oak County fairly
and equally to the best of my ability.
I will give 100 percent to the office of
County Judge.”
The 49 year old rancher is a
lifelong resident of Live Oak Co., a
1955 graduate of George West High
School and has a degree in animal
WILLIAM R. (BILLY) SMITH
County Judge Candidate
Live Oak County
husbandry from Texas A&M Univer-
sity.
Smith and his wife of 13 years,
Marguerite, have four children. The
oldest, John, works for his father on
the ranch, Cathy attends school at
Texas Tech University, Jennifer is
in the eighth grade, and the
youngest, Sidney, is in the fifth
grade.
Smith is the son of Leonard C. and
Helen Smith of George West. He has
ranching interests in both Live Oak
and Bee Counties.
The candidate is an active
member of the Good Shepherd
Episcopal Church. He has served as
senior warden of the church and has
See SMITH, Page 16
Weather
Report
Date
High
Low
Rain
Mar. 13
84
51
.00
Mar. 14
86
48
.00
Mar. 15
81
47
.03
Mar. 16
80
48
.00
Mar. 17
84
52
.00
Mar. 18
82
60
.00
Mar. 19
80
56
.00
Water level is 92.75
Wesley Seale Dam at
Lake Corpus Christi
male-female joints had separated and there were gaps of
several inches width extending for various lengths up from
the bottom of the sheet piles.
“This amounted to a major threat to the dam’s safe-
ty,” Botts said.
Although a different pile-driving sub-contractor finish-
ed the job, the majority of the piling work was already in
place, but was of doubtful integrity, Botts said.
To recommend a safe solution, short of pulling all the
piles and starting over again, an engineering firm of foun-
dation specialists was engaged by the Lower Nueces River
Water Supply District, Botts said in his report.
“The solution that was recommended and carried out,
was to place a thick, impervious ‘clay banket’ all along the
upstream face of the dam, sloping gradually upstream to
meet the natural bottom,” Botts said. “Its purpose is to
provide an impervious seal of the lake bottom adjacent to
the dam and eliminate the possibility of water percolating
down and finding the gaps between the piling sheets of the
cut-off wall.”
Botts points out that the “clay blanket” solution has
served well for 28 years, indicating it was a good one.
“I am certain that the engineers who recommended
this solution and those who accepted it, never envisioned
the reservoir would possibly be emptied during drought
periods, exposing that clay blanket to the hot, dry at-
mosphere, allowing it to develop cracks that could channel
water down to a potentially leaky foundation when the
reservoir is filled again,” said Botts.
“It is my opinion that, before an operating system is
adopted that could expose the clay blanket to drying out
and cracking, a responsible engineering firm, with ade-
quate professional liability insurance, should be engaged
to make a new study and evaluate the possible hazards,”
Botts concluded his report.
The controversial recommendations of the ad hoc
water group, made public late last year, were supposedly
based on an Austin consulting firm’s study of additional
water supplies within the Nueces Basin.
At least one source on that ad hoc committee,
however, has indicated that chairman Head was the
primary force behind the final proposals. Head is a Corpus
Christi attorney with heavy Coastal Bend political in-
fluence.
That same source said not all of the advisory commit-
tee members agreed with Head, nor with his statement to
the Corpus City Council that the public should be warned
that the recreational value of Lake Corpus Christi would
not be assured under the new operating procedures.
In another statement that angered area residents,
Head said property purchases and building based on
recreation at the local lake should be avoided.
Above photograph ran in Mathis News In 1956
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Mathis, Jim. The Mathis News (Mathis, Tex.), Vol. 63, No. 12, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 20, 1986, newspaper, March 20, 1986; Mathis, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1045009/m1/1/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Mathis Public Library.