A new report by the Corps of Engineers says there’s no sign of imminent danger at Nashville’s Percy Priest Dam. But if it were to break, the potential consequences are too grave to ignore.
The dam isn’t as big a worry as those at Center Hill or Wolf Creek, which suffer from seepage. But Percy Priest Dam has similar potential for problems, because it’s built on the same type of limestone rock. That means erosion could undermine the dam’s foundation.
Barney Davis is chief of the engineering construction division with the Corps of Engineers in Nashville. He stresses there’s no immediate sign of danger, but if the dam broke, the ensuing flooding could reach downtown Nashville and cost billions of dollars, so the dam is still considered high risk.
Davis says that’s because risk is calculated as a product of two factors – the chances the dam will break, and the consequences that would have.
“You can have a very very very low probability of failure, which we have here, and high consequences, and still have a very risky project.”
Davis says in the next few months the Corps will begin investigating the dam’s foundation, as well as form a plan to minimize risk in the short term. He says one of the ways to reduce risk would be lowering the lake’s water level, which could affect water supply intakes, as well as recreation. But Davis says it’s still early in the process, and the Corps has to consider every option it has.
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