Oktibbeha County downgraded the warning status for the county lake dam to a watch status this afternoon, county Emergency Management Agency director Kristen Campanella said in a press release.
The water level in the dam has dropped four feet since Tuesday, when county engineer Clyde Pritchard first found early signs of breaching on the levee and the county issued a warning and a recommendation that area residents evacuate. The county installed four pipes to siphon water into the emergency spillway behind the levee, and six pumps were delivered from Birmingham, Alabama on Friday to drain ever more water.
The condition of the mudslide on the seeping area of the levee has not changed since last week, the press release says.
Crews replaced the pipes on three of the six pumps this morning and will replace the other three by the end of the day, Campanella said. The new pipes “are more resistant to the pressure and water flow that is coming through,” she told The Dispatch.
All ten pipes drain water at a combined rate of 55,000 gallons per hour, and the goal is to lower the water level by five feet. A breach in the dam would have forced about 250 people to evacuate at least 130 households.
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