Description:

Every study, model, calculation and simulation that goes into the design of a dam serves one overarching goal — safety. Since dam failures can affect communities for miles downstream, state and federal oversight agencies set a high bar on planning for longevity and strength. But sometimes even the best-planned dam needs an upgrade. The Mississippi Bureau of Buildings, Grounds and Real Property Management brought in Dungan Engineering’s dam specialists to plan for a rehabilitation of the dam holding back Simpson Legion State Fishing Lake in Simpson County, a 76-acre public lake operated by the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks between Magee and Mendenhall with U.S. Highway 49 running in its shadow, just below the dam. Dungan devised a plan to reconstruct the embankment and raise the dam height while flattening the slope and reinforcing the wave action berm with riprap. The firm also design the installation of a chimney and blanket filter drain to control the flow of seepage, and a new pipe and riser structure were installed to allow for routine lowering of the lake level. Dungan brought in Pittman Environmental for a wetland assessment, while Aqua Engineering Services performed hydrological and hydraulic analyses of the dam before and after the rehabilitation. Burns Cooley Dennis conducted the geotechnical investigation.

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