https://youtu.be/y1wSIlam5PQIf you go to this site, you can read all about it.
https://eriecanalvideos.com/the-key-players/Once the fact is established that these people had no clue about what they were doing, one should rapidly begin to consider that there MAY be few faults in their overall design.
It would therefore be reasonable to consider the views of people in the Canal Corporation who have been grappling with the problems created by this lack of knowledge and listen to their almost 200 years of knowledge accumulated on canals, dams, and impounding water.
When the Canal Corporation tells you they have a SAFETY problem, why is it that a certain element of the community seems to think they are stupid and don't know what they are talking about?
Embankment dam construction these days is a science.
Math and physics prevail; so we should listen to those people who use those tools to repair embankments, not a bunch of amateurs who 'think' they know best.