Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality's Dam Safety Division released the following statement concerning Chunky River Dam No. 8 in Little Rock.
The goal of MDEQ’s Dam Safety Division to provide sufficient oversight of the operational safety and structural integrity of dams in Mississippi to minimize the possibility of a life-threatening catastrophic failure occurring at a dam that falls under our jurisdiction.
All dams that are classified as “high hazard,” and some “significant hazard” dams, are required to have an Emergency Action Plan (EAP). This is a formal written document that identifies the area that would be inundated in the event of a dam failure and sets forth the plans and procedures for notifying the individuals, agencies, and public officials that would mobilize resources to respond to an emergency.
The Chunky River Dam No. 8 has carried a high hazard dam designation since before the year 2000. The dam was constructed by the Soil Conservation Service (now the Natural Resources Conservation Service), a division of the USDA. The EAP for this dam is updated and maintained on record by the local Drainage District and MDEQ. The most recent EAP on file for the dam was dated 2013, so the Dam Safety Division requested that the EAP be updated to reflect the most current available information, resulting in the document being updated in May 2019.
The Chunky River Dam No. 8 does have deficiencies identified that should be addressed as part of the operation and maintenance of the dam, but none of these issues indicate that failure is imminent or that the town of Little Rock would be destroyed. Should the dam fail, there are six homes, two state highways, and five local roads that would be threatened. As a responsible party, the operation and maintenance of the Chunky River Dam No. 8 is the responsibility of the local Drainage District.
