Adelaide Hills Residents on High Alert as Leaking Dam Threatens to Unleash Catastrophic Floodwaters
- Emergency services scramble to siphon water from the dam, reducing the risk of a catastrophic failure
- About six properties, including the local Country Fire Service station, are at risk of flooding if the dam bursts
- Residents are urged to follow their emergency plans and prepare for possible flooding, with engineers set to reassess the situation on Wednesday
The quiet town of Echunga in the Adelaide Hills is on edge, with a leaking dam at risk of failing and unleashing catastrophic floodwaters on several properties. The State Emergency Service (SES) has issued a flood warning, urging residents to take immediate action and prepare for the worst.
According to SES state duty officer Ian Bonython, erosion at the dam has caused a concrete spillway to collapse, resulting in a small leak in the wall. “Currently, there is a small leak in the wall of the dam,” he explained in a radio interview on Tuesday. “What’s happened is the water has released from the dam underneath that concrete spillway and has eroded the dirt.”
In a bid to reduce the risk of a catastrophic failure, the SES has been working tirelessly to siphon water out of the dam, reducing the level to below the leak. “We’ve been able to reduce the amount of water in the dam and we’ve actually reduced it down to below where the water was coming out of the damaged spillway, so that’s been really successful,” Mr Bonython said.
About six properties downstream of the dam, including the local Country Fire Service station, have been identified as potentially at risk, with the SES contacting a local school and advising them to take precautionary measures. “We have spoken to the CFS station, the captain there, and they are taking precautionary measures, moving their vehicles out of there,” Mr Bonython said.
The SES incident manager, Derren Halleday, warned that the dam was at risk of a “catastrophic failure” and that the size of any potential flood would depend on the size of the breach. “At the end of the day, things are holding up well, but we err on the side of caution, and we continue to caution the community that it is a risk at the moment,” he said.
As the situation remains volatile, residents are urged to follow their emergency plans and prepare for possible flooding. Engineers are set to reassess the situation on Wednesday morning, with the SES working closely with hydrologists to prevent a catastrophic failure. The community is holding its breath, hoping that the dam will hold and the worst can be avoided.