A dam breach at a watershed lake in Carroll County is under control, with water no longer spilling out of a break approximately seven feet from the top of the 25-foot dam.
According to Gary Rikard, executive director of Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, the dam breach at Murdock Lake in southwest Carroll County was finally stabilized earlier this week, but due to the risk of future breaks or catastrophic failure of the entire dam, MDEQ plans to drain the lake using a controlled breach.
“[Murdock Lake] is more or less stabilized at this point,” Rikard said.
Rikard said MDEQ is concerned that additional rainfall will continue eroding the dam, leaving it weakened with the potential for complete failure.
“We couldn’t open the gate valve,” Rikard said. “We are looking at bringing in an excavator to make a controlled breach to drain the lake. That will eliminate the risk of [future catastrophic failure].”
Murdock Lake is just south of Highway 430 and east of County Road 165 -- just over three-and-a-half miles southeast of Black Hawk. The lake is around 45 acres, and it has a 750 foot dam that is 25 feet high, according to Rikard.
Rikard said MDEQ’s Dam Safety Division has been keeping a watch on the Murdock Lake dam, along with other watershed lakes in Carroll County and around the state. He explained that Murdock Lake dam as well as other dams in Carroll County are considered “high hazard dams,” not due to the condition of the dams but because homes have been built in the “inundation zone” downstream.
Rikard said last Friday night when the dam was breached around 5:30 p.m., a nearby resident alerted the authorities. MDEQ was on the scene of the break all weekend to evaluate the safety of the area from flash flooding.
Three families living on County Road 165 near Black Hawk were evacuated Friday evening, according to Beat 4 Supervisor Claude Fluker. Fluker said when the breaks were discovered he spoke with Carroll County Emergency Management Director Gayle Beard and asked her to use the evacuation plan the county has in place for this type of situation.
Fluker said roads that could be affected by flooding from the break were County Road 165, Highway 430, and Highway 17. MDEQ closed Highway 17 at the Abiaca Creek bridge late Friday night to reopen it Saturday. The water from Murdock Lake eventually drains into the Abiaca Creek, and officials were concerned water would top the bridge.
Fluker said he felt the breaks were due to the six to 10 inches of rain that fell Thursday in the area.
