EXCLUSIVE: Dams failed on Fort Jackson during storm

At least four dams at Fort Jackson either broke or suffered damage during last month’s historic flooding that swamped Columbia and drenched some neighborhoods adjacent to the Army training base.

Ending a month of silence about how the flood affected the base, Fort Jackson identified the damaged structures as being on the western side of the base near the city of Columbia in the Gills Creek watershed area.

So far, the base has not identified any failed dams on the eastern side of the base, in the Colonels Creek watershed near Leesburg Road, where flooding also damaged property and closed roads, Army officials said in response to questions from The State newspaper.

But base officials said they are still investigating flood-related problems in coordination with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Friday’s response follows concerns from neighbors near the base about whether dam failures or water releases at Fort Jackson flooded their homes and damaged their property. Lawsuits against the fort are being discussed.

“We understand and empathize with those adversely affected by the catastrophic flooding, which included Fort Jackson soldiers, civilian employees, and families,’’ the fort said in an email Friday.

In addition to a break in the fort’s Semmes Lake dam, which state regulators previously said had failed, base officials said a dike holding back water at Lower Legion Lake also blew out. That lake is near the base golf course, not far from Semmes Lake.

A wooden board at a third pond, also near the golf course, broke and allowed water to slowly drain out “in a controlled manner,’’ base officials said, declining to elaborate.

Meanwhile, an emergency spillway at the base’s lower Twin Lake suffered significant erosion during the storm, although the spillway performed well during the soaking rains, base officials said. The spillway controlled the rate at which water was released down Mill Creek, the fort said.

Columbia lawyer Pete Strom said he’s glad the fort released information about the flood. He is representing several dozen residents of the King’s Grant neighborhood near the base’s Jackson Boulevard gate. They suspect Fort Jackson pond failures damaged their property, he said.

“It is disappointing that it has taken them 30 days to acknowledge to their neighbors that this occurred,’’ said Strom, who says he has had difficulty getting information from Fort Jackson. “Hopefully, they will be willing to step up and take responsibility and fairly compensate people for their losses.’’

Another lawyer, Jones Andrews, also is discussing legal action against the fort with neighbors who live along Gills Creek and Wildcat Creek.

Andrews said Friday he has little doubt that the Semmes Lake dam failure contributed to flooding off the base. He met with a group of clients last week to discuss their legal options.

“We are trying to figure out what happened, who it impacted, who caused this and who we can help,’’ Andrews said. “The question is how can we fix this and learn from it so that it doesn’t happen again.’’

Andrews said the Semmes Lake failure occurred about 3 a.m. Oct. 4, but Fort Jackson officials said only that the dam breached “after being overtopped by floodwater during the early morning hours” of Oct. 4.

The early October storm dumped more than a foot of rain on Columbia that weekend, which contributed to rising waters and failed dams. Much of the focus on dam failures since the storm has been on private lakes in the Gills Creek watershed. At least five private dams off of Fort Jackson in that area of Columbia failed. Hundreds of homes were damaged in the flooding.

Fort Jackson is a 52,000-acre complex of buildings, open fields and woodlands that serves as one of the Army’s main training bases. It has 28 lakes or ponds. About three-fourths of those are small impoundments held back by dikes and earthen mounds, the base said.

Fort Jackson officials did not directly address potential lawsuits against the federal government, but said the Army has a process to compensate those who believe flooding on the base damaged their property. Under the law, people claiming damage because of negligence must file an administrative legal claim before suing, the base said Friday.

“Fort Jackson makes no representation as to whether the United States has any legal liability for any claim that is submitted,’’ the fort said in answer to questions from The State newspaper. “The public should be aware that certain legal defenses may be available to the United States government. Should you have questions as to the merits of any claim, you are strongly encouraged to consult with your own legal counsel.’’

It’s not clear whether the base will attempt to rebuild or repair any dams or other water control devices damaged during the storm. But there were no visible signs Friday that either the Semmes Lake dam or the Lower Legion Lake dike were being fixed. Officials said Fort Jackson is “studying various alternatives.’’

Both earthen dams have substantial chunks missing. The lakebeds at Semmes and Lower Legion had only streams running through the exposed mud.

The condition of the Fort Jackson ponds attracted the attention Friday of a visiting general.

Journalists from The State observed the three-star general, identified as David Halverson, pull up in a vehicle and spend several minutes on a fishing dock overlooking Semmes Lake. He was accompanied by a small entourage. The general then traveled to Lower Legion Lake. Halverson was in town to speak at a dinner Friday night, said Col. Mark Shade, a top official at Fort Jackson.

Monte Lemmon, who lives below the Lake Dogwood dam near the base’s eastern border, said he hopes somebody will get to the bottom of whether Fort Jackson is responsible for the misery his neighborhood suffered during the storm. Lemmon and his neighbors said it’s hard to believe that Fort Jackson didn’t have an impact.

The Lake Dogwood dam crumbled during the storm. Neighbors say they believe a powerful surge of water from upstream contributed to the dam failure and flooding in their community.

Their small neighborhood is not far from the corner of Leesburg Road and U.S. 601, about two miles away from Fort Jackson’s eastern edge. That area of the base contains a string of lakes on Colonels Creek.

“This wasn’t a normal flood,’’ Lemmon said. “Something from up Colonel’s Creek caused this.’’

Lemmon and other neighbors said they noticed a rapid rise in water between 5 a.m. and 7 a.m. on Oct 4. The water was moving so swiftly that it resembled a river, with a strong current, said Lemmon and neighbor Chris Linkous. Both men and their families were rescued by boat.

Lemmon said he suspects that if dams didn’t break on the fort, the base released water intentionally at some ponds to prevent the dams from collapsing as the storm raged. If water was released intentionally, neighbors say they should have been warned.

Fort Jackson’s response to the newspaper also said Weston Lake, one of the largest water bodies on Fort Jackson, held up during the storm.

Although some suspect Fort Jackson as a possible source of flooding off the base, other sources also could have led to the rushing water at Lake Dogwood. Dams on a string of ponds that hug Leesburg Road below the fort failed during the storm, according to an engineering report provided to The State by a homeowner.

This story was originally published November 7, 2015 at 8:33 PM with the headline "EXCLUSIVE: Dams failed on Fort Jackson during storm."