State grants awarded for dam safety and flood protection in Henrico, elsewhere
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Virginia will award $726,000 in grants to support 57 dam safety and flood protection activities around the state, including several projects in Henrico. Grants are provided through the Virginia Dam Safety, Flood Prevention and Protection Assistance Fund. The Virginia Resources Authority manages the fund on behalf of the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation.
Among the local grants are several involving Echo Dam in Henrico, including $2,859 for emergency plan development (EAP Emergency Action Plan or EPP Emergency Preparedness Plan), $1,022 for professional engineer inspection, and $3,596 to repair, replace, and install low level draining devices or siphon systems. Other grants will support Canterbury Dam's emergency plan development ($2,998) and professional engineer inspection ($1,022), Cox Road Dam with emergency plan development ($1,700) and professional engineer inspection ($1,022), and Wyndham Lake Dam with emergency plan development ($1,260) and professional engineer inspection ($630). For Wellesley Dam, grants will support dam break inundation zone analysis, mapping, and digitization ($10,295), emergency plan development ($1,260) and professional engineer inspection ($630).
Highlighting National Dam Safety Awareness Day on May 31, DCR Director Clyde Cristman noted, "Flooding is the most common and costly natural hazard. These matching grants will help make communities safer and more resilient to the extreme weather we are experiencing more frequently because of climate change.”
National Dam Safety Awareness Day commemorates the Great Flood of 1889 in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, caused by a catastrophic failure of South Fork Dam. More than 2,200 people died, making it the nation’s worst dam-related disaster.
