Deegan Lake Dam Fix on Way? City Council Action up for Consideration as Drought Issues Again a Problem
By Jeff Toquinto on November 10, 2025
With Bridgeport and all of West Virginia again facing drought conditions, the water level at Deegan Lake has dropped. Although not as bad as last year, the probability of a water drop to happen again is high unless action is taken.
The plan is for the first step in remedying the issue to take place at tonight’s Bridgeport City Council meeting. The meeting, open to the public, begins at 7 p.m.
Council will be asked to approve a change order with Terracon Consultants out of Morgantown for the first phase of remediation involving /Lake%20Study%20FB.jpg)
the dam at Deegan Lake. The change order would be added to the original contract guiding Terracon to determine the problems with the dam and options to fix it.
the dam at Deegan Lake. The change order would be added to the original contract guiding Terracon to determine the problems with the dam and options to fix it.
The action would come following recommendations made by Terracon Consultants Geotechnical Engineer Aaron Reel at a recent Council meeting. If approved, Council will be going with an option that will feature a temporary fix before considering, and looking at funding, for a seven-figure plus permanent fix.
“Terracon presented us with two options with one less expensive that should help with some of the leakage we have through the internals of the dam,” said Interim City Manager Joe Shuttleworth. “This contract will allow us to move forward with the design of that fix and put it out to bid.”
Along with the bid being put out, the contract has a second part beyond a contractor being hired to do the work. That will involve Terracon inspecting the work as it is being done.
“This is very specialized work. We typically try to have our staff do inspections, like when we have road paving where our staff will inspect the work being done,” said Shuttleworth. “These operations are so specialized that city staff doesn’t have the knowledge.”
The project once bid out will see the contractor install a flowable chemical grout into the pipes and other internal workings that will plug holes and gaps. Shuttleworth said it’s like a complicated version of using “fix-a-flat.”/Lake%20Study%20II.jpg)
At a recent meeting of Council, the cost to do that work was estimated to be between $100,000 and $200,000. The actual cost will not be known until a contractor is hired.
The cost for the change order, which includes the design and bid package as well as construction administration is under $90,000. Getting to the bid part has a price tag of $50,200. The construction administration is not to exceed $35,000.
The cost of a complete repair, which Shuttleworth said the hope is to eventually do, is likely a $1 million dollar project. If, and when, it is done, it will require the lake to be drained and will close the Deegan Lake property for an entire summer. This fix, which is not expected to be permanent, will not impact Deegan Lake’s use. Shuttleworth said the city would be eligible for FEMA grants if the second option moves ahead. He also emphasized that there is no public safety risk from a dam failure, according to information from the consultants.
Another change order is also up for a vote. Council will look at a change order with FieldTurf for design and construction documents for the support building at the new $7.3 million multipurpose field at The Bridge Sports Complex.
Shuttleworth said this is for the next component of the project. It is a support building that will house restrooms, concessions, and several /Bridge%20Work.jpg)
other areas, most notably storage. He added that it could also include a press box and rooms for use by sports officials to change.
other areas, most notably storage. He added that it could also include a press box and rooms for use by sports officials to change.
“We need to do this now because utilities are coming and to do the utilities correctly we have to know the footprint of this building. We want to make sure the utilities are in the correct location and the capacities are correct,” Shuttleworth said. “You don’t want to put in undersized utilities and also run the chance of putting in utilities and having to tear out what you put in.”
Shuttleworth said the building will not be anything near the size of the Citynet Center. However, he did say it will have a functional use like the building at the existing wagon wheel style baseball complex at The Bridge.
“This will do the engineering and design work and show us what the building is going to look like, how it will function, and an estimate as to/Council%204-14-25%20Shuttleworth.jpg)
what it will cost,” Shuttleworth said. “FieldTurf has design specialists specific to sports and recreation venues that we’ll engage with to tie this all together.”
what it will cost,” Shuttleworth said. “FieldTurf has design specialists specific to sports and recreation venues that we’ll engage with to tie this all together.”
The cost of the engineering work, which is estimated based on an assumption of the building costing up to $3 million, is $250,000. Shuttleworth said that is the maximum cost because they must determine the actual cost.
One item that will draw a crowd will be the formal swearing in of Greg Pigg to the position of City of Bridgeport Fire Chief. Pigg took over Nov. 1 after Chief Phil Hart served his last day with the city Oct. 31.
“Certainly, the bittersweet component is Chief Hart’s retirement,” Mayor Robert Matheny said. “The positive thing is to see professionals in the system advance, which is always good … To see a person that has advanced through the ranks and has served for years is wonderful. /cover%20Matheny%20-%20Copy.JPG)
(Pigg is) an asset to the city.”
(Pigg is) an asset to the city.”
Matheny, who has a lifetime of service in law enforcement, also served as a first responder on the firefighter front. And he served with Pigg’s father Junior as a firefighter.
“I served many years with his father in Salem,” said Matheny, “so I know he comes from a great background and has created his own great background.”
Another part of new business involves accepting the recommendation of the Bridgeport Planning Commission to update the city’s comprehensive plan. The plan went into effect in 1996 and is updated about every five years. A comprehensive plan is used as a development guidance tool for the city.
“I’ve had a chance to review and was at the Planning Commission meeting where there was a chance for public comments,” said Matheny of the Sept. 30 meeting. “It was a good meeting with good input. I will support the passage of that.”
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Benchmark Planning out of Charlotte oversaw the update and was on hand for the public meeting in September. Most of the public comments came from officials with Genesis Partners, the developers of Charles Pointe.
Prior to official business, there will be a report from Carrie Cecil of Frost Brown Todd, LLP. Fost Brown Todd is one of three firms representing the city in two ongoing lawsuits. Both lawsuits relate to the Charles Pointe development and involve the City of Bridgeport: one is a federal lawsuit filed by developers Genesis Partners to validate a tax increment financing (TIF) extension, and the other is a state lawsuit filed by the city against a state agency regarding the same TIF extension. The city is a defendant in the developers' lawsuit and is the plaintiff in its own case against the state, in the form of the West Virginia Economic Development Authority (WVEDA) and former Secretary Michael Graney.
Matheny said the matter is to provide more information on the cases.
“I think all information we can hear from the attorneys is valuable information. We’ve asked Miss Cecil to come to fill in the gaps from other reports and meetings we’ve had on the cases,” said Matheny. “I think the information we derive is help going forward in helping Council know how to proceed.”
Matheny said his hope is to keep the conversation in the open session and avoid an executive session.
There will also be discussion on opioid litigation. Council has had to act several times on litigation that impacts cities across West Virginia on ongoing litigation against various entities and businesses.
As for proclamations, there will be one given for Christian Heritage Week.
The meeting will include a report from Matheny and Shuttleworth. There will also be a public forum near the start of the meeting.
Fire Lieutenant Jacob Thompson will give the invocation.
Editor's Note: Top two photos show workers with Terracon looking for issues at Deegan Lake, while the third photo is off construction activity last month at The Bridge. Interim City Manager Joe Shuttleworth and Mayor Robert Matheny are shown in the fourth and fifth photos, respectively. Bottom images shows officials with Genesis Partners are shown with representatives from Benchmark Planning at the Sept. 30 Planning Commission meeting.
