In August, neighbors across the reservoir saw construction of a handful of forebays on the Peninsula shoreline. What is a forebay? From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forebay_(reservoir), “A forebay is an artificial pool of water in front of a larger body of water. The larger body of water may be natural or man-made. Forebays have a number of functions. They are used in flood control to act as a buffer during flooding or storm surges, impounding water and releasing in a controlled way into the larger waterbody. They may be used upstream of reservoirs to trap sediment and debris (sometimes called a sediment forebay in order to keep the reservoir clean.” In short, while there may have been other options for keeping drinking water in the reservoir from being polluted by run-off, this is the solution chosen.
We have been watching the development and doing our part to monitor compliance with the restrictions imposed on the Peninsula. The construction of these forebays in the buffer zone (a restricted area which is, roughly speaking, within 50′ from the flood line along the water’s edge) appears to be a variation of the Development Plan that would require a public hearing. We have written to Dewey Crowe and asked about the approval process, in the Division of Building Inspections on 9/2/2020, and again on 10/11/20, and are still awaiting a reply.