Following an official groundbreaking at the site of the Duck River Dam last week, construction is continuing as scheduled on the foundation that will eventually make up the new Cullman lake.

Crews with Birmingham-based phase I contractor Brasfield and Gorrie are still working to excavate the dam foundation, and engineers say the project remains on track to bid the actual dam construction in mid-2013.

The City of Cullman, via the utilities board, is creating a 640-acre lake with a 32-million-gallon-per-day capacity in northeast Cullman County. The approximately $68 million water source will be used along with the area’s current water source Lake Catoma.

The next step? Collaborating with the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) for some on-the-ground plans.

“All the design activities are concurrent with what we are doing,” Steve Newton, with project engineer of record CH2M Hill, said. “We’ll be getting with ADEM about the design of the intake structure soon.”

The land acquisition team for the project has closed on almost all the land needed for the dam — “the map is looking greener everyday” coordinator Susan Eller said at a Tuesday meeting — and just a handful of closings remain among the 83 affected parcels. One condemnation is still pending.

“We’ve granted some extensions to folks who couldn’t get out on time, and we’re trying to do as much good will as we can out there,” Eller added.

After months of paperwork and scheduling issues, a cultural resources survey of the site, required under the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permit, is also finally scheduled for next month.

“The University of Alabama will be in town August 2 for some reconnaissance at the sites, and they should start field work August 20,” Newton said.

The survey is expected to take no longer than two weeks to complete.

With construction well underway, Tim Scott, with the Cullman County Soil and Water Conservation District, has started a new series of water quality tests to insure standards are being followed by crews and residents in the watershed.

“We’re still pulling samples above and below the construction site,” he said. “But, the water flows are still minimal. Even though we got some rain, we haven’t had very much runoff.”

* Trent Moore can be reached by e-mail at trentm@cullmantimes.com, or by telephone at 734-2131, ext. 220.