Kelly Barnes Dam was an earthen embankment dam located in Stephens County, Georgia, just outside the city ofToccoa. It collapsed on November 6, 1977, after heavy rainfall, and the resulting flood killed 39 people and caused $2.8 million in damage. The dam was never rebuilt, and the Toccoa Falls downstream of the dam site is now a memorial and tourist attraction on the campus of Toccoa Falls College.
History
In 1899, the original rock crib dam was built by E. P. Simpson to create a reservoir for a small hydroelectric power plant that began operating that same year. The plant, now a historical site on the Toccoa Falls College campus called the Old Toccoa Falls Power Plant, produced 200 kW for the town of Toccoa, Georgia. The power plant was transferred in 1933 to the Toccoa Falls Institute, which decided to develop a more stable electric power source and built an earthen embankment dam over the original rock crib dam between 1939 and 1940. After World War II, the dam was again raised, creating Barnes Lake, a reservoir. The modifications provided power for Toccoa Falls Institute until 1957, when the power production was stopped, and the lake was thereafter used only for recreation.
Dam characteristics
The dam was modified several times, ultimately measuring high, long and wide at its crest. The dam had two uncontrolled earthen spillways. The main spillway was long, wide and located on the left side of the structure. A low point on the right side and away from the dam could also be used as a secondary spillway when the reservoir levels became too high. The embankment dam was located about upstream from the Toccoa Falls and mostly consisted of residual soils and silt. The dam sat on a foundation of silt and stable biotite gneiss. Within the dam embankment were two masonry structures. One helped support a pipe that was used as a low-level spillway. The other contained a penstock for the hydroelectricity power plant. Neither was being used at the time of the flood.
Dam failure
On November 6, 1977, at 1:30 am, the Kelly Barnes Dam failed after four days of heavy rain: had fallen from November 2 to 5 — half of that between 6 pm and midnight on November 5. The rain swelled Barnes Lake, which normally held of water, to an estimated of water. A total of of the dam failed, causing a peak of maximum discharge to burst downstream.. The flood killed 39 people and destroyed nine houses, 18 house trailers, two college buildings and many motor vehicles. Five houses and five college buildings were also damaged. Two bridges on Toccoa Falls Drive and a culvert at County Farm Road were completely destroyed. The embankments at Georgia State Route 17 were destroyed on either side of the bridge, and one of the bridge abutments at Highview Road was destroyed. The water-supply pipe for the city of Toccoa was damaged and the city's water supply was contaminated for several days. The cost of the damage was $2.8 million. After the flood, Georgia's Governor George Busbee called for an immediate investigation, which was carried out by a Federal Investigative Board of the United States Geological Survey. Their report was released December 21, 1977, with no specific causes cited for the failure. The investigators had no engineering plans for the dam and records of construction on the dam were based on witnesses, pictures, and newspaper articles. The investigation did, however, cite several possible or probable causes. The failure of the dam's slope may have contributed to weakness in the structure, particularly in the heavy rain. A collapse of the low-level spillway could have also exacerbated this problem. A 1973 photo showed a, slide had occurred on the downstream face of the dam, which may have also contributed or foreshadowed the dam failure. Overall, the dam itself was in poor condition and lacked a sufficient design.
