Homes Flooded During Dam Release
Record High Beaver Lake Prompts Historic Floodgate Surge
Last updated Friday, April 11, 2008 9:16 PM CDT in News
By Flip Putthoff
The Morning News
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High water and flooding never before seen in the history of Beaver Lake damaged homes, resort cabins and campgrounds Thursday night and Friday during the heaviest floodgate releases ever from Beaver Dam.
At least six homes downstream from the dam were damaged by floodwater releases into the White River when the dam's seven floodgates were opened to a record height of 9.5 feet, almost 4 feet higher than ever before.
Beaver Lake reached an all-time high in the wee hours of Friday morning. The White River rose about 20 vertical feet during the historic surge of water.
Park Ranger Alan Bland with the Army Corps of Engineers' Beaver Lake office said 1 million gallons of water per second roared though the spillway during the peak of floodwater release.
Beaver Lake crested at a record height of 1,132.26 feet above sea level at 2 a.m. Friday, Bland said. The previous record was 1,130.38 feet in 1990.
The previous record height for the floodgates to be opened was 5.8 feet, also in 1990.
"This is the seventh time the floodgates have been opened in the history of the dam," Bland said. "Four of those times have been this year."
Beaver Dam was completed in 1965.
Bland said the dam was never in peril during the record water. Traffic continued across the dam during the floodgate releases.
The White River raced and roared downstream from the dam through trees usually high above the river, normally a narrow, placid trout stream. Waves as high as ocean surf crashed onto the shore.
The record high water washed away a restroom and shower building at a corps campground near the dam, and destroyed campsites and recently installed electric hookups part of a campground upgrade. Trash bins were washed away.
Much heavier damage occurred downstream. Floodwater damaged six riverside homes. Five vacation cabins were flooded at Spider Creek Resort, said employee Ron Siler.
"They got flooded at different levels. The deepest I'd say is 3 or 4 feet, but they're built on foundations that are about this high," he said, indicating about 5 feet.
Ten guests in the cabins were moved to units on higher ground. Resort workers used fishing boats to reach the cabins Friday morning.
The town of Beaver was spared any damage from the water release, City Councilman Bill Padgett said while gazing at the high water Friday. Water covered the road bed of the town's historic suspension bridge, but no homes or buildings were flooded.
The park is damaged, but that happened during flooding in early March, he said.
Floodwater did heavy damage to the home of Jan and Sandra Turley situated about 5 miles downstream from Beaver Dam.
Water flooded the first floor of their 10,000-square-foot home, destroying furniture, antiques and more. A barn with a loft apartment was halfway underwater Friday morning.
The Turleys lost a pavilion and gazebo to the flood. Water killed about five birds, including a wild turkey and a pheasant, in an aviary on the first floor.
Jan Turley estimated the damage to structures and contents at $1.5 million.
Turley said he was notified by the corps about the impending floodgate releases and high water about 7 p.m., but said the caller didn't know how high the water would get.
He claims the flooding could have been avoided. Letting the water out more gradually through lesser floodgate releases would have prevented the damage to his home, he continued.
"If they'd just left the gates at 3 feet and continued it at 3 feet it'd been all right. Instead, they've created a catastrophe," Turley said.
Beaver and Table Rock lakes should have been lowered sooner, he said.
He expects the federal government to pay for the damage "since the corps caused it," Turley said.
Corps officials said Friday they had no choice but to open the floodgates allowing the record releases.
Jan Jones, chief of water management at the corps' Little Rock District, said the releases were made to keep Beaver Lake from flowing over the top of the dam's floodgates. That, too, would have caused downstream flooding.
"At the top of flood pool, it's like there is no dam at all," she said. "It's like a big bathtub. If you've got more water coming in than what your stopper will let out, then you've got to figure out another way to get it out. That's basically what we did."
Corps officials spoke to reporters during a midafternoon teleconference Friday.
Corps spokesman P.J. Spaul said the decision to increase the floodgate release was made Thursday afternoon when it became known that inflow into Beaver Lake was exceeding outflow from the dam. At that time the lake level was above the top of flood pool and rising.
"We didn't have any choice. When the lake is full, there's no place to store any more water," Spaul said.
The National Weather Service predicts that the water from the reservoirs will send renewed river crests downstream that are expected to be slightly higher than those recorded in March. In addition, more water in the river will slow its descent.
"Some have been this full before, some have never been this full before," said corps spokesman P.J. Spaul.
Park Ranger Bland said the floodgates' height was increased from 7 inches to 3 feet at 12:30 p.m. Thursday. The height was increased to 8 feet by 8 p.m. and to 9.5 feet at 10 p.m. Thursday.
The gates were lowered to 8 feet at 7 a.m. Friday and to 7 feet at 9:30 a.m. Friday.
Bland said visitors will not be allowed below Beaver Dam until debris is cleared from roadways and the area is inspected to ensure there is no danger from electric lines or other causes.
As long as the floodgates are open, visitors can see them from an overlook on the south side of Beaver Dam.
Bull Shoals Lake is the only lake in the chain of three White River reservoirs that has not had its floodgates open since flooding began weeks ago. Bull Shoals is storing the floodwater released from Beaver and Table Rock, but Bull Shoals is nearly full to the top of flood pool, said Jones.
"There is a very high potential to open those floodgates, possibly by Saturday afternoon," she said.
Spaul said the corps is hopeful floodgates at all dams will be closed by Sunday.
Water is at historic levels at several corps lakes, Paul said. These include Beaver, Norfork and Greers Ferry lakes.
"As a whole we've probably not been in this situation where we've had so many lakes this full at the same time," he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
At A Glance
Crests Of White River Lakes
• Beaver Lake crested at a record 1,132.26 feet above sea level early Friday and is falling.
w Table Rock is rising and is expected to crest at 933.3 feet late tonight. The top of flood pool at Table Rock is 931 feet.
• Bull Shoals Lake was at 692 feet at noon Friday and rising. The top of flood pool at Bull Shoals is 695 feet.
Source: Army Corps Of Engineers
Web Watch:
• Arkansas Emergency Management
www.adem.arkansas.gov/
• U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
www.swl.usace.army.mil/
• U.S. Geological Survey
ar.water.usgs.gov/
Weather Service Arkansas flood map
• /tinyurl.com/2ujyrw
Fast Facts
Buffalo River
• Reopened Friday from Boxley Valley to confluence with White River.
• Level is at flood stage, moving rapidly, full of debris.
• Rated as dangerous; floating not recommended.
• For information on river levels go to www.ar.water.usgs.gov/index.html or call Tyler Bend Visitor Center (870) 439-2502.
Source: Buffalo National River Superintendent's Office
Reader Comments (13 comment(s))
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ironfortified wrote on Apr 12, 2008 1:14 AM:
cybertech wrote on Apr 12, 2008 2:00 AM:
Thing is that water runoff into the lake it not a constant, even during periods of heavy rain.
I dont think this is a COE blunder at all. Its a matter of Nature trumping Man and in almost every case Nature tends to win.
They can only empty the lake so far as they also have to anticipate summer needs as well because well quite frankly we wont know whether it will be a wet or a dry summer and since it is a hydroelectric dam water has to be kept at a height that can facilitate electrical needs year round as well as for other needs also.
Contd........... "
cybertech wrote on Apr 12, 2008 2:09 AM:
As well with the recent heavy rains and the concurrent run off from various areas and lakes, keeping up with that kind of flow is not an easy task to master because as is the case here, the runoff was just about keeping up with the release.
The downstream flooding is one of those necessary evils we have to contend with when this much rainfall occurs over a short period. It is much better than the dam failing completely in which case everything downstream would be obliterated and there would be many more casualties.
I remember a similar scenario in the area that I grew up in, in Oklahoma in 1986. Where torrential rainfall over a fairly short period contributed to massive run offs into the area lakes. One of the damns had no choice but to release from the flood gates at max volume essentially driving a huge wall of water into the next dam which had to follow suit lest both dams fail and cause a bigger catastrophe. 75% of the town I lived in was under water, some areas as deep as 20 ft or better.
Hard to predict nature sometimes. "
arkietex wrote on Apr 12, 2008 2:36 AM:
Twinkie wrote on Apr 12, 2008 8:35 AM:
adam wrote on Apr 12, 2008 10:24 AM:
Twinkie wrote on Apr 12, 2008 11:15 AM:
ironfortified wrote on Apr 12, 2008 2:42 PM:
seabee wrote on Apr 12, 2008 3:35 PM:
p5harri wrote on Apr 13, 2008 10:57 AM:
Corps officials said Friday they had no choice but to open the floodgates allowing the record releases."
He might want to check the Flood Control laws, the Corps has basic immunity from any liabiity for damages.
"
Not already registered?
django wrote on Apr 11, 2008 10:35 PM: