Preventing a Potential Dam Failure
By Judy Hill, ASTC-FO North , and Jeff Allred, Res Engineer, NRCS, Decatur,
Alabama
 Quick
action by a host of local partners averted a potential failure of a watershed
dam in Marion Countyrecently. Little New River Site #2, located on Bostick
Creek, completed in 1960, is one of the oldest watershed dams in Alabama. Its
primary purpose is flood protection and prevention.
The condition of the reservoir was compared to that of July 2006, when annual
mowing maintenance was completed. At that time, the pool level was very low and
the riser was several feet above the water level, but in April 2007, the riser
was underwater. Rains this spring were minimal, but the reservoir was up to the
crest of the emergency spillway, as much as 20 feet above normal. Jeff Allred,
NRCS engineer, surmised that something was clogging the riser.
The Marion County Commission installed siphon pipe and began drawing down the
reservoir so that the riser could be inspected. The drainage process was very
slow. A 6-inch rain in August again filled the pool to more than eight feet
above the riser.
Marion County NRCS DC Wade Hill helped secure two 10-inch irrigation pumps,
in addition to two 6-inch pumps the County had rented. The pumps ran 24/7 until
September when the water finally receded below the riser and it could be
inspected.
The Marion County SWCD hired a contractor to remove the blockage
from within the riser and are working with a local contractor to install a new
trash rack, a cover for the riser access, and repair the valve.
No single agency could have solved this problem alone. Thanks to
the efforts of local partners - the Marion County Commission, NRCS, and the
Marion County SWCD – a potential crisis was averted.
< Back to Success Stories
| 
About Us
Back to Top