By John Ross Amigh
Staff Writer
The Seven Lakes Landowners Association is set to move forward with the state-mandated Sequoia Dam bottom drain project.
In a June 18 meeting at the North Clubhouse, the Lakes and Dams Committee gave a presentation outlining the bid process and what the project will look like moving forward, along with projected timelines.
The association board then voted to accept a $3.4 million bid from In-Water Services of Greensboro for the work. This is compared with a $3.2 million estimate proposed by the project’s consultant engineer, J.T. Grimes, in June 2025. The Board will consider the recommendation and take a vote at the June 25 Open Board Meeting.
In-Water Services was chosen from six potential bidders, each of whom was provided with a 160-page request outlining the project. Of those six, In-Water Services was the sole submission.
The committee outlined a list of eight must-have requirements and four “nice to haves” when searching for a bidder. The comprehensiveness of the list was a major factor that made In-Water Services the only contractor to propose a bid; time constraints and availability of underwater divers were other factors that led to their bid.
Heather Guild, the association’s former board president who has worked on the dam project, explained that getting only one bid back wasn’t surprising because finding a contractor that fulfilled all the criteria the committee had set was actually a great thing.
Guild talked about the experience that In-Water Services has, like the emergency spillway and bottom drain repairs in Seven Lakes West and the city of Aberdeen, among other projects.
“ Again, highly technical work that they do. They have an excellent track record of getting things done on time, in budget and to a high standard,” Guild said.
An important note about the $3.4 million bid from In-Water Services is that it contains a $367,000 contingency cost. If the portions of the contingency are not used, the cost could come in under the $3.4 million bid. In addition to the $367,000 contingency cost, the $3.4 million bid contains a $200,000 provision for riprap installation along the lake’s shoreline. This was not required by NCDEQ as part of the project. However, Guild advised it should be done as part of necessary maintenance.
“I think those of you who are familiar with the shoreline know that a lot of that riprap is eroded, it’s rolled back into the lake. I’m not sure when the last time that was done, but 15, 20 years ago?” Guild said.
Projected start and end dates for the project were outlined in the meeting as well. Currently, the projected start date is Sept. 8, and the projected end date is set for Feb. 1, 2027.
During the project, the lake will be lowered three feet below its normal level. Guild outlined that the lake is naturally lowers through evaporation about a foot each summer, but that would be credited to the three-foot lowering for the project, not an additional foot.
Boat owners were advised to take site-specific measures depending on the current and projected water level at their docking area. For anyone needing to complete dock work or repairs, though, during the dam project would be a good time to do so.
Grimes also reminded meeting attendees that because this is an outdoor construction repair project, it will be weather-dependent.
Future project milestones to look out for include the July 15 request for design changes that will be submitted to NCDEQ, the Sept. 8 and Feb. 1 start and end dates, and the final NCDEQ inspection and certification within 45 days and begin to refill the lake once NCDEQ has signed off on the completion of the project.
