So we designed another earth dam in Georgia: Design and construction of Snake Creek Dam

The Hill Seaton Reservoir Dam, formerly known as the Snake Creek Reservoir Dam, in Carroll County, Georgia began impounding water in December 2001. The closing of the gates signified the end of an era that was highlighted by two plus years of water restrictions and dry faucets for the residents of Carroll County. The 650-acre reservoir, located near Whitesburg, Georgia, has a 33.6 square mile drainage basin. The ration of drainage basin size to reservoir size provided a unique set of challenges in determining the most cost-effective spillway configuration. The selected spillway system consists of a conduit and riser and twin earth-cut emergency spillways. The spillway system consists of Soil Conservation Service (SCS) Saint Anthony Falls (SAF) Energy Dissipator Twin 6-ft by 6-ft Box Conduits 26-ft by 13-ft Riser, 56-ft Tall Two 200-ft wide earth cut spillways The structural design of the riser was complicated by the long span of the sidewalls and the opening for the box conduits and gates. To more accurately calculate the shears and moments induced by the predicted loads, the riser was modeled using a finite element program known as SAP 2000. The finite element modeling efforts resulted in a more efficient design. The design of the earth cut emergency spillways was complicated by the geologic variability of the two abutments and the prolonged high stage flows during the design storm event. The NRCS computer program known as SITES was utilized to model the potential erosion in each of the spillways during the design storm event. The result of the modeling efforts was the selection of a control section that would not breach during the design storm event and allowed the spillway system to be constructed without cost-prohibitive armoring. 11 pp.