Proceedings of the 2019 Mississippi Water Resources Conference

Year: 2019 Authors: King P., Cummings A.

The State of Mississippi requires that high and significant hazard dams are inspected annually. While owner inspections are allowed, at least every 5th year the owner must hire a licensed professional engineer to perform the inspection. These inspections help the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) Dam Safety Division assess the condition of each dam and identify needed repairs. The Dam Safety Division assists dam owners in identifying critical repairs to safely maintain their dams and to comply with State regulations. If the required actions are not taken, enforcement procedures are necessary. MDEQ has broad authority to take necessary actions to get deficient dams into compliance, such as imposing penalties to draining the lake and breaching the dam. This presentation will focus on the inspection process and explain the methods used to ensure all high and significant hazard dams are compliant with State Regulations.