Those who live near Buckeye Lake will finally get to spend Memorial Day on the water. Families were forced to spend last summer on land while the dam was being repaired.
"It's nice having the water back up. You can get out with everybody and go fishing," said Chris Chapin who was fishing on the lake with his girlfriend and her family.
Many people had stopped visiting Buckeye Lake after a 2015 report by the Army Corps of Engineers found the earthen dam was at risk of failing.
"It was pretty bad," said Chapin. "All the restaurants and everybody kind of suffered. You'd go into places and it just wouldn't be anybody there."
Colleen Assmann was boating on the lake with her family.
"We kind of held off on getting a boat for the last couple years while the dam was being worked on. This year we decided to go for it because we heard the lake water was going to go up," she said.
Already, Assmann and her family have been on Buckeye Lake four or five times this season.
"We were able to bring the family out here and enjoy the sunny days, especially on the weekends," said Assmann.
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources is now on phase 2 of the dam project. The design has been completed and construction will begin over the summer.