The U.S. Corps of Engineers is watching a boil in the Arkabutla Dam that holds back the water in Arkabutla Lake and is asking the public to remain vigilant at this point.
“There is an issue with the dam and as required by our standard operating procedure we have notified emergency agencies in the area,” said Bucky Walls, spokesman for the Corps of Engineer. “Right now we are observing the situation to see the extent of the problem.”
He added that, like a thunderstorm, there are watches and warnings.
“Right now we there are thunderstorm watches for the area that could bring rain,” said Walls. “We are watching this closely and if for any reason it becomes a warning, we will notify the appropriate authorities across the region.”
That procedure would have MEMA notified by the U.S. Corps of Engineers, with MEMA alerting the communities of any danger.
He did urge people to remain alert if they live in the flood plain. Walls said the “sinkhole” is near the outlet on the south side of the dam.
“The lake is currently at 228-feet and we are trying to get it down to 210-feet,” said Walls. “That shouldn’t be a problem.”
Rain is predicted for the area overnight. A flash flood watch for the area and the potential failure of Arkabutla Dam through Wednesday afternoon.
Arkabutla Dam was built in 1940 on the Coldwater River to create Arkabutla Lake. The dam is 11,500 feet long with an average height of 67-feet.
A “full-pool” at Arkabutla Lake is 229.19 feet and flood stage is 238.3. The Record High Stage is 244.1 feet
Arkabutla Lake is in Tate County and drains into Arkabutla Creek and the Coldwater River. A breach could send water up the Yazoo Pass along the Yazoo River Basin.
Arkabutla, the smallest and shallowest of the “Big Four” northern Mississippi flood control reservoirs, is 11,870 acres at summer pool, only about a third the size of more well-known Sardis (32,100 acres), Grenada (35,820 acres) and Enid (44,000 acres reservoirs.
Arkabutla is shallow, averaging 9.6 feet deep in comparison to Sardis (18.5 feet) and Grenada (15.3 feet).
Benefits of the lake and dam are reduced flooding around the Town of Marks cities of Greenwood, Yazoo City, Belzoni and other smaller communities within the Yazoo River Basin.
