The City of Carrollton issued a statement in response to a recent story published by DMN.
An article was recently published by The Dallas Morning News regarding the Lewisville Lake Dam and its risk to downstream stakeholder communities. The article can be found here.
As a stakeholder community, the City of Carrollton wanted to provide our public with some information in response to the article, to assure our residents, businesses, and visitors that we hold in high priority public safety and transparent communications. Like our media partners, we wish to have an informed public and will continue to provide additional information in the near future.
- Public safety is always the top priority. The City will continue to work with local, state, federal, non-profit, and private sector partners toward this common goal.
- According to information provided to the City by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), there is no immediate threat of failure. The project continues to function as designed. Current elevations and spillway discharge amounts at Lake Lewisville are available at this website.
- Based on findings from previous dam safety modification studies, USACE has and continues to implement both interim risk reduction measures and long-term reduction measures to manage and reduce any risk associated with identified distress. For any particulars regarding risk reduction measures being implemented or dam safety modification studies, contact USACE Lake Lewisville at 469.645.9100 or the USACE Fort Worth District via phone numbers at this site.
- Regarding the current embankment slide, we understand that this slide is not unusual with the area soil types and the saturated soils this year; dams within the Trinity Region have experienced these types of slides in the past. Earthen slides do raise a concern and require additional monitoring and mitigation, but they are something the USACE is familiar in dealing with and has experience in making repairs to. For more specifics on this embankment slide and any repairs, contact USACE Lake Lewisville at 469.645.9100 or the USACE Fort Worth District via phone numbers at this site.
- USACE implements inspections and monitoring activities (sometimes on a round-the-clock basis) depending on the situation and lake pool level. These activities may include visual inspections and/or analyzing instrument data. For more information on the specifics of these activities, contact USACE Lake Lewisville at 469.645.9100 or the USACE Fort Worth District via phone numbers at this site.
- While any detected distress at the dam always will be taken seriously, there are many actions the City has taken and will take should any issue worsen, in order to mitigate and manage the risk to public safety, and to prepare for and respond to any exigent circumstance.
- The City has an all-hazards Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan that specifically addresses the evacuation, warning, and mass care emergency functions. This plan meets the “Advanced Level” planning standards, as defined by standards set by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM). Furthermore, Carrollton is a participating partner with USACE in its development of an Emergency Action Plan (EAP) for the Lewisville Lake Dam, has access to protected inundation modeling and consequence data, and has trained and exercised with the Corps and many other partners in order to understand the risk regarding varying emergency scenarios.
- Included in the City’s all-hazards Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan there is a plan annex devoted specifically to evacuation. This evacuation plan provides a framework for how the City would perform an evacuation of any part of the population, in any area of the City, should a hazard threaten. This plan is comprehensive in that it addresses the authority to issue evacuation orders, transportation and traffic control, warning and public information, securing the evacuated area, and other important planning elements.
- In regards to any necessary evacuation for any potential dam failure, Carrollton has access to USACE’s protected inundation modeling and has mapped areas of any potential inundation relative to the City’s population and infrastructure. USACE contends that it is highly likely the City would have time to provide ample notice and information of any necessary evacuation including specific evacuation routes, timing, locations of mass care facilities, and other specific instructions.
- The City employs a number of tools and methods to provide information and warning in the event of an emergency or evacuation need, such as coordination with our local media partners, the Outdoor Warning System (OWS) sirens, information posted to web or social media avenues, and even door-to-door notifications should the situation require. The ability to provide information and warning is a key element and priority in the provision of public safety.
The Carrollton Emergency Management Team is working closely with USACE as well as surrounding cities to bring residents the latest information. For continuing updates, visit the City’s website at cityofcarrollton.com.
