Oh Dam. By; Claire Booth

            In the last part of April, Arkansas was soaked with heavy rain and busted up with tornados. Many people took cover and protected themselves and others. With all the heavy rain, many parts of Arkansas became flooded and also impacted tow dams in Garland County, the Remmel and Carpender Dams.

            Bothe the Remmel and Carpender Dams supply hydro-electric power to surrounding areas, so when the National Weather Service announced that there was gong to be heavy rainfall, they started preparing for it. Both dams increased generation and opened flood gates to maintain lower levels of the lake. Once the flow being released from Demmel Dam exceeded 15K ft per second, the flood response teams were activated.

            The flood response teams are a group of people, whose job is to focuses on slowly maintaining lake level during storm events. They do this by monitoring stream flow, weather radar, lake elevations, and dam discharge. Also, an Entergy employee at every dam to operate flood gates.

            At the time, lakes were at the bottom of their operating range to prepare for additional rain, lakefront property owners and downstream river users were advised to be aware of the weather and river valley. They were encouraged to take precautions against flash flooding. The heavy rain also brought a substantial amount of debris on the lakes, so boaters were told to keep from riding out until it settles. Also, dock owners were advised to check their dick to ensure that they are adequately secured.

            The rain has gone by May 5, and the dams are running back to normal. Even though some parts of Arkansas is still flooded, the communities around Carpender and Remmel Dams are okay with the quick response from Entergy and the rest of the flood response team. If April showers really do bring May flowers, this year’s flowers should be quite pretty.