Yet another good reason to get rid of this useless and harmful structure. It is way past time to free the Ocklawaha.
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Comments by OSFR historian Jim Tatum.
jim.tatum@oursantaferiver.org
– A river is like a life: once taken,
it cannot be brought back © Jim Tatum
Dam’s failure would result in deaths
Jim Gross Guest columnist
The wheels of government often turn slowly, sometimes grinding to a complete stop. And then, often with no fanfare whatsoever, there is a step forward. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) just took a small step forward.
For more than a year now FDEP has been withholding information from the public about the condition and safety of the Kirkpatrick Dam on the Ocklawaha River. The information withheld includes details about the condition of critically important facilities at the dam and also important information about the hazards associated with a catastrophic failure of the dam.
The term “hazard” has a specific meaning in the context of dams. There are three categories of hazard potential for dams: low, significant and high.
A low-hazard potential failure of a dam is expected to cause only minor damage to nonresidential and normally unoccupied buildings or rural land. A significant-hazard potential failure is expected to cause significant economic losses, including property damages, critical infrastructure, environmental damage or disruption of lifeline facilities, but no loss of life. A high-hazard potential failure is similar, but loss of life is expected.
Florida Defenders of the Environment has been seeking information from FDEP about the condition and safety of the Kirkpatrick Dam on behalf of the people of Florida, particularly the people living downstream of the dam and in harm’s way. FDEP has released copies of the reports we sought; however, the documents are heavily redacted. That is, much of the information in those reports has been masked by FDEP such that it is not accessible to the public.
FDEP is essentially claiming that its dam reports are threat assessments. That is, the reports assess the potential for some kind of crime against persons or property, such as acts of terrorism.
FDEP is wrong. The dam reports are not threat assessments. They are risk assessments to identify potential hazards. Examples include planning to mitigate hazards due to earthquakes, floods, tornadoes and tropical storms.
People in harm’s way must know if they are in harm’s way. That is why dam owners are charged with the responsibility of developing an emergency action plan (EAP). The Association of State Dam Safety Officials maintains that, “Public awareness is a critical component of emergency planning. Many people do not know they may live or work near a dam. Public awareness of an EAP will enhance its effective implementation.”
The small step recently taken by FDEP is a report just released on March 18. The report was prepared by an engineering consultant, and it assessed the hazards associated with a catastrophic failure of the Kirkpatrick Dam.
Until now, FDEP had maintained that the Kirkpatrick Dam was a low-hazard potential dam. However, this new report, while heavily redacted, has clearly established that the Kirkpatrick Dam is a high-hazard dam. That is, a catastrophic failure of the Kirkpatrick Dam will cause loss of life.
Florida Defenders of the Environment has a legal case pending against FDEP to produce full disclosure of what FDEP knows about the hazards associated with the Kirkpatrick Dam. But there is a simpler resolution of this issue. FDEP already knows that it doesn’t make sense to continue sinking taxpayer money into upkeep and maintenance of a 53-year-old dam that never served its intended purpose and is beyond its useful life.
The time has come to dismantle a portion of the dam and restore a freeflowing Ocklawaha River. This would not only yield significant recreational, economic and environmental benefits, it would also eliminate the hazards from a catastrophic dam failure. Let’s stop playing with people’s lives.
Jim Gross is the executive director of Florida Defenders of the Environment and a founding member of the Free the Ocklawaha River Coalition.
