Dam Inspections & Safety: NC Vs South Carolina

The tragedies stemming from the extreme rainfall event in the Carolinas are all too familiar to members of the Association of State Dam Safety Officials (ASDSO).

ASDSO extends sympathy to South Carolinians who have been affected by the flooding.

Throughout much of the forested lands of South Carolina, there are more than 2,400 state-regulated dams, most of which are earthen dams on private property.

Deputies in that county were also going door-to-door asking residents in a low-lying area to evacuate as it appeared the Beaver Dam was in imminent danger of failing, they said.

“We had a steady flow of water that was affecting the sinkhole and making it bigger”, Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said early Wednesday morning. “This has taken most people completely by surprise – there just wasn’t a full appreciation of the vulnerability of these dams before this rain”.

Residents in flood-plagued South Carolina grappled with the damage wrought by historic rains on their homes, roads and water supplies but welcomed predictions of sunny skies in the state on Tuesday.

The report of a dam breach at the Upper Windsor Dam near Dentsville was false, and there are no evacuations in the area.

The Army Corps of Engineers details the number of dams in every state, who owns them and if there are emergency plans for these dams. But she says few dams were breached there because the state of Colorado had been spending millions to upgrade its inspections and repairs program. “These are good people doing the best job they can, but they could use additional resources”.

Crews from the South Carolina Electric and Gas Co. are pumping water out of the pond to relieve pressure on the dam. Despite efforts overnight to stabilize the dam, emergency officials say it is beyond fix.

Spragens acknowledges the huge amount of rain would have caused problems in many states.