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News & Events

News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (11/20/09)

Nationally, 40 Percent of 8,300 State-Regulated High-Hazard Potential Dams need plans

Program launched to increase emergency action plans for Missouri dams

A new outreach and communications program has been launched to help increase the number of Emergency Action Plans (EAPs) completed for Missouri's high-hazard potential (HHP) dams. Supported by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the outreach program will assist the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR) dam safety program and will increase public awareness of the importance of EAPs for the protection of lives and property.

Dam owners have the legal responsibility to provide EAPs under Missouri regulations. As of mid-year, 34 of Missouri's 469 state-regulated HHP dams had EAPs, according to DNR records. DNR dam safety engineers and staff inspect the dams and provide assistance to dam owners in completing an EAP. Nationally, 40 percent of approximately 8,300 state-regulated HHP dams do not have EAPs.

High-Hazard Potential means there could be loss of life and significant property damage in the event of a breach. The HHP designation does not in any way reflect the current condition of the dam's structural integrity. HHP dams that fall under state regulation are inspected every two or three years by Missouri DNR engineers, depending on the characteristics of downstream residential, business, and public use development.

An EAP is a plan of action to reduce potential property damage and loss of lives in an area affected by a dam failure. An EAP includes a map of the potential inundation area along with procedures and information for warning downstream emergency management authorities. Using the EAP, county and local emergency management officials can identify the location of businesses, schools, hospitals, nursing homes, residences, and highways at risk, shelters and emergency resources, and other information crucial for an efficient response, including evacuation procedures and routes if needed.

The centerpiece of the outreach program is the website www.damsafetyaction.org, which is intended for the public as well as dam owners, dam safety officials, and emergency management professionals. The website contains educational materials about the importance of EAPs, links to state and national sources of EAP information, EAP forms, and completed samples of EAPs in Missouri and elsewhere. Also included are a section on the importance of inundation maps, links to organizations involved in dam safety, downloadable brochures created for the public and dam owners, news features, and graphics.

Many of these tools will help guide and ease the EAP process for dam owners and those working with them.

DNR has regulatory authority over dams that are more than 35 feet high, though there are exemptions for agricultural dams and those regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission or operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, such as the dams for Harry S. Truman Lake, Mark Twain Lake, Stockton Lake, Table Rock Lake, Clearwater Lake, Wappapello Lake, and Lake of the Ozarks.

DNR has begun a program to provide inundation maps for HHP dams by using new geospatial and data technologies. An EAP can be started and largely completed without an inundation map, but the maps help emergency responders know the timing and depth of potential flood wave fronts that could sweep through an area below a dam. Inundation maps also help emergency management staff establish evacuation routes.

Persons at risk in a dam failure include those who live, work, or travel through an inundation zone. Campers, hunters, fishermen, hikers, other recreationists, and farm workers (and their livestock) also may be in need of the warning system an EAP can help provide. An EAP also helps emergency managers know who is outside the inundation zone and does not need to be evacuated.

Creative Communications Network, Inc. (CCN), based in Liberty, Missouri, is the contractor for this outreach program.

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Contact Information

For Missouri dam safety program inspections and Emergency Action Plans:
Robert A. Clay, P.E. Chief Engineer, Dam and Reservoir Safety Program, Water Resources Center, Missouri Department of Natural Resources
Phone 573-368-2177,

For Missouri Department of Natural Resources program and policy information:
Larry Archer, DNR Information Officer
Phone: 573-751-3807,

For www.damsafetyaction.org information:
Ron Butler, Executive Vice President, Creative Communications Network, Inc.
Phone: 816/407-9194,

DamSafetyAction.org is an outreach and communications program supported by
the Federal Emergency Management Agency