Dam Reports

To further inform the public, the agency has made available dam inspection reports for confirmed failed dams during the October 2015 flood event, final inspection reports for all Class 1, 2 and 3 dams statewide, and additional reports of interest to community stakeholders.

Additional Information

• Dam Owner Information Event
• Historic Updates and Information
• Hurricane Matthew Breached Dams
• Hurricane Matthew Damaged Dams

In response to October 2015's historic rainfall and flooding, S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) staff has worked diligently throughout the past year to assess the impact on dams across the state. During and immediately after the 2015 flood, 150 DHEC staff worked around the clock for more than 6,500 work-hours on emergency response, data tracking and conducting emergency inspections of dams.

Our team partnered with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Homeland Security, South Carolina Electric & Gas (SCE&G) and HDR Engineering as part of our response to the 1,000-year rainfall and statewide assessment of all high- and significant-hazard dams and some low-hazard dams. Following the historic flood event, DHEC:

• Assessed all 652 dams high- and significant-hazard dams statewide and identified some low-hazard dams.
• Confirmed 51 regulated dams breached / failed during the flood event.
• Issued Emergency Orders covering 75 dams.
• Sent a Notice of Violation to owners of 29 dams who did not provide documentation of their required action items by the deadline within a month of issuance of the Emergency Orders.
• Identified 192 additional dams as being in need of inspection and potentially requiring non-emergent maintenance or repairs.
• Partnered with HDR Engineering to conduct a complete review of the agency's Dam Safety Program.
• Contracted with HDR Engineering to conduct an engineering review and assessment of the Gills Creek Watershed in Richland County and Twelve Mile Creek Watershed in Lexington County.

Ongoing Recovery Efforts

Currently, our staff continues to assist dam owners to ensure that dams are safe. We are working with many dam owners and their engineers on a plan of action for repairing or removing affected dams. As part of our state's ongoing recovery effort, DHEC has:

• Received 72 permit applications from dam owners to repair or rebuild their structures that were damaged during October's historic flooding event.
• Issued 36 permits to repair dams that were damaged due to the October 2015 flood and one permit to remove a dam. This action includes permits issued pursuant to emergency orders or other DHEC directives, such as the inspection and maintenance letters issued in November 2015.
• Hosted a forum for dam owners on March 12, 2016 , to help connect dam owners to information and people who can help them move toward recovery.
• Continued to work with dam owners to provide technical assistance so that they can make final decisions on the future of their dams and implement the repairs.
• Continued to work collaboratively with the S.C. Department of Transportation (SCDOT) to share information and provide technical assistance related to roads impacted by both regulated and unregulated dams.

In addition, the agency continues to evaluate the responses to the emergency orders issued after the flood and is conducting follow-up site visits to assess if appropriate actions are being taken. Our overall goal is to ensure dams are put in a safe condition to protect life and property. In instances where the owners have not complied with department requests for action, the dams have been referred for inspection and possible enforcement pursuant to provisions in the Dams & Reservoir Safety Act and Regulations.

Our Program Today

We are working to take what we've learned from the 1,000-year storm event to make the program stronger. During the past year, DHEC has taken the following measures to strengthen response preparation and create a more robust Dam Safety Program:

• As of September 2016 additional resources from the S.C. General Assembly will expand the Dam Safety Program to approximately 14 full-time staff members -almost doubling the program size.
• Collaborated with Emergency Communications Network to initiate their CodeRED system to allow automated notification to dam owners via voice call, text messages and email in preparation for the potential significant rainfall. This system was used during response to Hurricane Hermine in September 2016.
• Established a coalition of dam owners, engineers, and other stakeholders with interest in dam safety to provide a forum to discuss the impact of the Dam Safety Program on the regulated community.
• Held "Dams After the Flood: Regulations, Responsibilities and Recovery" an event designed to connect dam owners to information and people who can help them move toward recovery.
• Presented to numerous groups, including SCEMD, FEMA, South Carolina Watershed Districts, American Society of Civil Engineers, OSHA's Mine Safety and Health Administration, and others on the impact of October's storm on dams in the state. Most recently, DHEC presented on the agency's response to the flood and lessons learned at "Dam Safety 2016" in Philadelphia. This annual conference, hosted by the Association of State Dam Safety Officials, is one of the leading conferences in the United States on dam and levee safety engineering and incident management.
• Partnered with CDM Smith to provide long-term engineering support to the Dam Safety Program, including the development of owner/operator training and the review of engineering plans.

Next Steps

The process of rebuilding and repairing affected dams will be ongoing as our experts work with each dam's unique situation. Throughout the next months, we will be hiring and training new engineers, issuing repair permits and conducting inspections, reclassifying regulated dams, fine-tuning standard operating procedures and refining GIS tools to monitor rainfall and its impact on dams.