Head Of Chattooga River Dike 5

About Head Of Chattooga River Dike 5

The primary purpose of Head Of Chattooga River Dike 5 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 Town Of Trion (local government). It impounds the Riegal Mill Creek near Trion.

The dam stands 6 feet tall and stretches 950 feet across, and collects water from a drainage area of 3 square miles. Completed in 1975, 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. Notably, no emergency action plan is currently on file for this high-hazard dam. The most recent inspection on record was 09/29/2009. That was 16 years ago — unusually long for a high-hazard dam, which typically requires more frequent inspections.

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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