COLUMBIA, S.C. — As stormy weather moves away from the Midlands, officials are taking a closer look at how the area’s system of dams held up during the deluge of water brought by Debby.
Myra Reece with the South Carolina Department of Environmental Services said some dam systems have already been checked and are doing fine.
“Our dam safety program folks were very anxious to get out in the field today, where they could safely do so, to we begin those post-storm assessments of high and significant-hazard dams,” Reece told reporters during a press conference Thursday at South Carolina's emergency operations center.
“And I’m happy to report that no urgent or very concerning issues were identified in those post-storm assessments. There are no urgent issues that need immediate action, so we just feel like that’s a really good sign for us so far,” Reece said.
After the flooding of 2015, several local dams had to be rebuilt. That included the Gibson’s Pond dam in Lexington.
Wesley Crosby with the Town of Lexington told News19 the town made some adjustments to their ponds just before Debby made landfall.
“So that was done earlier in the week. We did lower the levels a bit in each one. Other than that, it was just monitoring the levels of each of the ponds,” Crosby explained.
As for the dam itself, it performed exactly as designed.
“There’s no damage, everything has operated like it should. The water levels are just a little bit up from normal, but they’re really not all that bad. Some of this water may fill them up a little bit more as the day goes or into tomorrow,” Crosby said.
It may surprise many to learn that most of the dams in the Midlands are actually privately owned and not maintained by any governmental body.
That includes the dam at Lake Murray, which is owned and maintained by Dominion Energy.
In a statement to News19, dominion said "Over the past week, Dominion Energy has lowered Lake Murray’s water level in anticipation of tropical storm Debby. We will continue to monitor weather forecasts and make adjustments if needed to ensure the safe operation of the dam."
Lexington’s Crosby said that the town has been pleased with the performance of their rebuilt dams.
"They were built to current standards, so we feel like we’re in pretty good shape for future rain events,” Crosby said.
Officials will continue to monitor the state’s dams and watersheds, as headwaters north of the area are still being impacted by Debby.
Meanwhile, the State Department of Environmental Services said they are taking lots of pictures and notes during their post-storm inspections and are grateful the state’s dam system performed so well during Debby.