Proceedings of the 2019 Mississippi Water Resources Conference

Year: 2019 Authors: Myers D., Watts J.

The Dam Safety Division of the Office of Land and Water Resources (OLWR) within the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) is tasked with regulating dams within the state to protect downstream lives and property. The original inventory of dams was completed in the early 1970s prior to the passage of legislation in 1978 creating a state dam safety program. This inventory was updated during the early years of the program but did not undergo any major updates until 2013. To expedite the process of updating the inventory, the program created Geographic Information Systems (GIS) tools to automate many of the steps used to locate and properly classify dams. Information will be presented on the evolution of the state's inventory of dams, the number and beneficial uses of dams, the GIS tools and procedures created, and ongoing efforts to improve and maintain the inventory to better protect the public.