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USACE Vicksburg District activates Emergency Operations Center for potential breach at Arkabutla Dam

USACE Vicksburg District
Published May 9, 2023

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Vicksburg District’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) activated May 9 at 10:30 a.m. after identifying potential breach conditions at Arkabutla Dam located in Tate and Desoto counties, Mississippi.

The EOC will operate on extended hours as necessary to coordinate response to any impacts within the district’s area of responsibility. EOC personnel will be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, at 601-631-5367.

The district will lower the pool to an elevation of at least 210 feet to reduce breach potential and initiate safe emergency repairs. Operational releases associated with lowering the lake are not expected to induce downstream flooding. Project personnel continue to monitor dam conditions 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Observed conditions at the dam’s outlet structure led to the declaration. The district will provide updates as they become available.

All recreation areas and road access immediately downstream will be closed until a determination has been made that activity can resume. The following areas are closed at this time:

  • Old Pratt Road
  • Scenic Route 301 along the base of Arkabutla Dam
  • South Outlet Channel Campground and Day Use Area, including Swinging Bridge Nature Trail and Boat Ramp
  • North Outlet Day Use Area, including playgrounds, pavilions, the fishing pier, and Coldwater River Nature Trail
  • Basketball court

Additional information about Arkabutla Dam (identification number MS01496) can be found at the National Inventory of Dams (NID) at https://nid.sec.usace.army.mil/#/dams/system/MS01496/summary.

The district remains committed to working with the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) and surrounding counties and cities as the situation develops.

The USACE Vicksburg District is engineering solutions to the nation’s toughest challenges. The Vicksburg District encompasses a 68,000-square-mile area across portions of Mississippi, Arkansas, and Louisiana, that holds nine major river basins and incorporates approximately 460 miles of mainline Mississippi River levees. The Vicksburg District is engaged in hundreds of projects and employs approximately 1,100 personnel.


Contact
Anna Owens
601-631-5208
anna.m.owens@usace.army.mil

Release no. 23-015