Fort Meade Pr-6

About Fort Meade Pr-6

The primary purpose of Fort Meade Pr-6 is tailings. Tailings dams contain waste material from mining operations — typically a slurry of finely ground rock left over after valuable minerals have been extracted. These structures require ongoing monitoring because tailings can contain heavy metals and other contaminants. The dam is owned by Charles Clark (private). It impounds the Peace River near Fort Meade.

The dam stands 48 feet tall and stretches 21,160 feet across, creates a reservoir covering 500 acres, and has a maximum storage capacity of 24,000 acre-feet. Completed in 1977, the structure is 49 years old.

This dam carries a high hazard potential classification, which means that a failure or uncontrolled release of water would likely cause loss of human life. This classification reflects the consequences of failure, not the likelihood — it indicates that people live or work in the area downstream. Notably, no emergency action plan is currently on file for this high-hazard dam.

At 48 feet, this dam is taller than 92% of dams nationwide.

Living Downstream

If you live or work downstream of this dam, consider taking these steps: learn your local evacuation routes, check whether your county emergency management office has a dam failure inundation map, and sign up for local emergency alerts. The Florida dam safety program can provide more specific information about emergency planning for this structure.

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