Gordon Encourages Residents To Study Wolf Creek Flood Maps

February 9, 2007, Now that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has released Wolf Creek Dam flood maps, U.S. Rep. Bart Gordon is encouraging residents to determine how a dam break would affect them.

“Residents have a right to know if they would be in danger if Wolf Creek Dam were to fail,” said Gordon, the dean of Tennessee’s congressional delegation. “I’m glad the Corps’ has decided to release the maps now, but they should have been released sooner.

“I encourage residents to study these maps to determine how their families and their property could be affected by a break in the dam.”

The Wolf Creek Dam Failure Inundation Maps show an estimate of what areas would flood based on various levels of dam failure. The Corps is making the maps available at local public libraries, including:

• Clay County Public Library, 116 Guffey St., Celina,
• Justin Potter Library, 101 S. First St., Smithville,
• Charles Ralph Holland Memorial Library, 205 W. Hull Ave., Gainesboro,
• Gorham MacBane Library, 405 White St., Springfield,
• Smith County Public Library, 215 N. Main St., Carthage,
• Edward Ward Carmark-Sumner County Public Library, 658 Hartsville Pike, Gallatin,
• Martin Curtis-Hendersonville Public Library, 116 Dunn St., Hendersonville,
• Fred A. Vaught Memorial Library, 211 White Oak St., Hartsville,
• Lebanon-Wilson County Public Library, 108 S. Hatton Ave., Lebanon,
• Mt. Juliet-Wilson County-Harvey Freeman Memorial Library, 2765 N. Mt. Juliet Road, Mt. Juliet.

Last month, the Corps lowered water levels on Lake Cumberland and began a $300 million rehabilitation on Wolf Creek Dam to combat seepage that has persisted throughout the dam’s 54 year history. Corps officials say the repair work could take seven years to complete.

Lake Cumberland is the largest reservoir east of the Mississippi River. While the Corps stresses that the dam is in no immediate danger of failure, officials there estimate flood damage could top $3 billion if a break were to occur.

“I will continue to push the Corps to take all sensible precautions to ensure the safety of the thousands of residents who live downstream of Lake Cumberland,” said Gordon. “The focus must remain on their wellbeing.”