01:15 PM EDT on Thursday, July 20, 2006

BY PETER B. LORD
Journal Environment Writer

Whenever violent storms threaten Rhode Island, thrill seekers rush to Narragansett to watch waves slam against the seawall.

But history shows that the water can do dramatic damage miles inland when hurricanes cause rivers to flood and dams to fail.

Journal photo / Bob Thayer

Day five of a six-part series examining the state's hurricane plan: Dams. There are more than 600 dams in the state. Failures could cause widespread destruction.

It is not clear how many people in Rhode Island's inland communities are at risk. Unlike in coastal zones, where flood-prone areas are clearly mapped, the precise mapping of homes and businesses threatened by dam failures has in most cases not been done.

Residents are being advised to plan ahead and assess their own risk.

Because of a recently enacted state law, more help is on the way to assess risks. But for this hurricane season, homeowners are on their own.

"We didn't get into dams," said Robert Warren, executive director of the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency. "But the locals should know who needs to evacuate. The towns should know. People seem to think government is going to take care of everything. It can't."

More than 600 dams hold back water all over Rhode Island. Most are in remote areas or create small ponds that pose little risk to those downstream. But dozens are very old and in varying states of disrepair.

(A copy of the state's latest list of dams and reports on inspections can be found by going to www.dem.ri.gov , clicking on "Compliance and Inspections" and then "Dam Safety Program Annual Reports -- 2005.")

A total of 16 dams are officially classified as "high hazard," meaning "more than a few" people would be killed if they failed. Another 41 dams are classified as "significant hazard," meaning "probable loss of a few lives" and appreciable property.

The number of high-hazard dams is rapidly rising.

Because of more inspections and continuing suburban sprawl that has put more houses in flood zones downstream from dams, the state Department of Environmental Management is expected later this summer to expand the list of high-hazard dams to 80 to 100.

That doesn't mean the high-hazard dams are failing. In fact, David Chopy, supervisor of the DEM's dam-safety program, says the handful of dams that were in serious disrepair last fall are now being fixed.

Two new efforts should continue to improve dam safety.

The DEM recently received an $85,000 grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency that will pay to map the downstream areas that would be affected by each of the state's high-hazard dams.

Last month, Governor Carcieri signed a law passed overwhelmingly by the General Assembly that authorizes the state to step in and repair dams that owners have allowed to fall into disrepair, and to charge the owners for the work.

The law also requires each town by July 1, 2008, to prepare emergency action plans for each high-hazard dam, and to bill the owners for the plan.

The plans would include maps showing where flooding would occur and plans for evacuating residents.

Passage of the law was prompted by heavy rains last October that caused widespread flooding and threatened to breach a critical dam in Taunton But Rhode Island has received a string of its own wakeup calls in recent years.

The failure of an earthen dam at California Jim's Pond in South Kingstown in 1998 flooded Peace Dale and prompted state officials to begin to address dam safety.

The state filled a long-vacant dam inspector's position, and former Gov. Lincoln C. Almond appointed a task force that warned that many of the state's dams were in disrepair.

The General Assembly considered legislation to modernize an 1882 state law that left Rhode Island with one of the weakest dam-safety programs in the country. Amendments would have required dam owners to develop emergency action plans, but some complained about the costs. And it took until this summer for the legislature to approve the reforms.

The DEM has been slow to respond. Last fall, Chopy said he hoped to have a new classification list for dams completed by December. Now, the target is summer's end.

During heavy rains last fall, a 173-year-old dam threatened to flood the city of Taunton. Parts of the city were evacuated as crews worked through a weekend reinforcing the dam with tons of boulders and rocks.

In November, the DEM determined that six high-hazard Rhode Island dams were also high risk, meaning they could fail, and Carcieri ordered DEM Director W. Michael Sullivan to seek out the owners and take immediate steps to make the dams safe. Most of the owners quickly responded with repair plans, but the state went to court against two.

Last week, the state's one dam inspector, Paul Guglielmino, met a reporter and photographer at the picturesque Georgiaville Dam in Smithfield.

It creates a tree-lined pond that looks like a corner of New Hampshire's Lakes Region. It is part of a chain of ponds that form the headwaters of the Woonasquatucket River that flows into downtown Providence.

Built with massive granite and concrete blocks, the structure that surrounds the spillway at the dam looks like it could last forever, which is good because if it did fail, it could unleash more than 600 million gallons of water onto more than a dozen houses and businesses just downstream in Smithfield.

Farther downstream, the waters would surge against another dam that holds back sediments polluted with dioxin, one of the most toxic chemicals.

What many visitors might not realize, Guglielmino points out, is that the spillway is only a small part of the total dam structure. In fact, to get to the spillway visitors walk on an embankment 33-feet high, 21-feet wide and nearly a half-mile long. This too is the dam, and it is made with dirt, not massive stones.

The dam is owned by the Town of Smithfield, and the Georgiaville Pond Association helps with maintainance, Guglielmino said. Recently some minor repairs were done at the spillway.

Last week Guglielmino noticed that young maple trees are growing from the sides of the berm and were already taller than a man. Trees on the dam are not good, he said. They sink roots that could weaken the structure.

Trees had been cut down in 2001 but maintenance is expensive and costs even more because the slopes are steep.

The good news in Rhode Island, Guglielmino said, is that generally speaking, the higher and more critical the dam, the better it is maintained.

To act otherwise could court another disaster.

Few people remember one of the worst floods to hit Rhode Island. It was on Aug. 19, 1955, and it was hurricane-related.

Earlier that month, remnants of Hurricane Connie poured 9 inches of rain on ground that was parched by a long, hot summer. A few days later, Hurricane Diane came through. Its winds caused little damage, but it dropped as much as 20 inches of rain.

The ground was already soaked, so the water swelled streams, lakes and rivers. On Aug. 18, Woonsocket Mayor Kevin Coleman ordered the evacuation of the city's Social District. It was a wise decision.

The next evening, the earthen Horseshoe Dam in nearby Blackstone, Mass., gave way. Harris Pond emptied, creating a 20-foot wall of water that cut Woonsocket in half.

The next day, the Blackstone River flooded, pouring more water into the city.

Some 31 mills were forced to close. People from around Rhode Island donated food and clothes.

Several flood-control projects followed. But some insist Woonsocket has never fully recovered.

plord@projo.com / (401) 277-8036

Your turn: Do you know whether you live near one of the state's more than 60 high-hazard or significant-hazard dams?

To see the rest of this series, photo galleries, maps of evacuation routes statewide, reader responses and more, go to http://projo.com/hurricanes

Editor's note

Scientists say hurricanes are becoming more frequent -- and more intense. Rhode Island has been hit hard in the past. This six-part series examines the strengths and weaknesses of the state's hurricane plan and offers advice on how to prepare.

before, during and after a natural disaster.

Series at a glance

Sunday/ POWER

If the power fails, emergency plans and backup sources would last only three days.

Monday/ COMMUNICATIONS

Emergency personnel have improved communication systems but only in some areas.

Tuesday/ EVACUATION

Most evacuation routes are well marked, but evacuees know where they want to go.

Wednesday/ SHELTERS

The state has a list of approved shelters, but there is still no official plan for pets.

Thursday/ DAMS

There are more than 600 dams in the state. Failures could cause widespread destruction.

Friday / RESPONSE

Local emergency management directors have a big job but often no training and small budgets.