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Flooding fears
Ogeechee residents warned of possible major flood; Screven dam in danger of failing
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Workers stand at the edge of a breach on the dam Saturday at Herbert Jacobs Pond in Screven County, just across the Bulloch County line. The weakened dam caused authorities to warn residents along the Ogeechee River below Rocky Ford that extreme flooding may occur due to water flowing from the 80-acre pond. - photo by EDDIE LEDBETTER/staff
Torrential rains proved too much for a lake dam Saturday as emergency responders waited for a swollen Screven County lake to breach its confines.As of 8 p.m. Saturday, Screven County Emergency Management Director Harvey Cryder said it could be “any time now” as he and other emergency responders monitored an 80-acre, 24-feet-deep irrigation lake owned by Herbert Jacobs.The lake is located on Hwy. 17 near the Cooperville, Dover and Rocky Ford communities. Heavy rainfall every day for almost two weeks, followed by more rain as a new storm system moved through the area, caused the dam to erode. Cryder said the dam had several leaks, but when the eroded portion gave away, it would send a tremendous amount of water through the spillway, over the highway, through streams to the already-flooded Ogeechee River.Residents of the area, especially in low-lying spots, were advised to evacuate, said Bulloch County Public Safety Director Ted Wynn.
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