When Company Stays Too Long - Lake Blackshear and Flint River Dam Failures Due to Tropical Storm Alberto

Tropical Storm Alberto made landfall on July 3, 1994, in Destin, Florida. The storm then slowly moved through southeastern Alabama and into southwest Georgia before stalling just south of Atlanta. During this time, the storm released record breaking amounts of rain, causing the breach of two FERC regulated dams located in Southwest Georgia on the Flint River. FERC regulated Lake Blackshear Dam is in Warwick, which is 25 miles upstream of Albany, Georgia. During the early hours of July 9, 1994, the reservoir overtopped and breached an approximately 500-foot (152 meters) long section of the north embankment of Lake Blackshear dam. FERC regulated Flint RiverDam is located downstream of Lake Blackshear Dam in northeast Albany, Georgia. Between July 7 and July 14,1994, the reservoir overtopped approximately 1,700 feet (518 meters) of the 2,780 feet (847 meters) of the FlintRiver west embankment, breaching it in several locations.