South River Ws Str # 4

About South River Ws Str # 4

The primary purpose of South River Ws Str # 4 is flood risk reduction. The dam is designed to control downstream flooding by temporarily storing excess water during storms and releasing it at a controlled rate. The dam is owned by Broad River Swcd Madison County Board Of Commissioners (state). It impounds the Wolf Branch near Ila.

The dam stands 43 feet tall and stretches 692 feet across, creates a reservoir covering 38 acres, has a maximum storage capacity of 2,154 acre-feet, and collects water from a drainage area of 1,850 square miles. Completed in 1967, the structure is well into its service life at over 50 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. Its condition is rated satisfactory, indicating no existing or potential dam safety deficiencies are recognized. An emergency action plan is in place for this dam. The most recent inspection on record was 01/24/2017. That was 9 years ago, which is on the longer end for a high-hazard structure.

At 43 feet, this dam is taller than 89% 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 Georgia dam safety program can provide more specific information about emergency planning for this structure.

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