Courtesy Photo | The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District safety and emergency management...... read more read more
YUMA, Ariz. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District’s Dam Safety Program and the Emergency Management team conducted a tabletop exercise Sept. 18 at the Yuma Public Works Department in Yuma.
Under the leadership of Kyle Hayworth, LA District Dam Safety program manager, representatives with local, state, federal and nongovernment agencies practiced several scenarios focused on emergency response operations at Painted Rock Dam.
“The purpose of this exercise is to familiarize all the first responders with Painted Rock Dam and the impact they could see from a release of significant water, or, even worse, a breach of the dam,” said Hayworth, after presenting the history of Painted Rock Dam.
According to USACE records, Painted Rock Dam was built specifically to protect downstream agriculture, as well as Yuma, and other towns and small businesses along the Gila River. Most of year, the reservoir remains dry; however, the last two years have seen an increase of waterflow potentially raising risk to the dam’s drainage area of 50,800 square miles.
“One of the things we focused on was ensuring state and local leadership knew how to coordinate and execute our emergency action plan during specific disaster scenarios,” Hayworth said. “I want them to come away with the knowledge of what to do in a worst-case scenario concerning Painted Rock.”
The training focused on three objectives:
• Enhance roles and responsibilities of going from normal operations to emergency operation, in conjunction with USACE reservoir regulations.
• Asses the effectiveness of USACE emergency messaging to external agencies, in accordance with the USACE Emergency Action Plan.
• Enhance interagency coordination and procedures in operating a Joint Information Center composed of public information officers with local, state, federal and non-government organizations for a flood event at Painted Rock Dam.
“We are training with many agencies to better coordinate and make sure we can protect lives and property in this area,” said David Kingston, LA District emergency management branch chief. “The last two winter storms have caused flooding.”
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Yuma has a population of about 101,000 people, making it the 14th largest municipality in Arizona.
“Historically, the Painted Rock Dam is the only dam in our district that had water run over the spillway,” said Kingston, a retired Army colonel. “It happened in the floods of 1993, which means it could occur again. That’s why it’s important to have these training exercises.”
Following the presentations and small-group scenario exercises, several participants toured Painted Rock Dam, located about 120 miles northeast of Yuma.
The USACE South Pacific Division also sent subject-matter experts to assist the LA District with training objectives. The South Pacific Division provides engineering services to respond to national and natural disasters to minimize damage and help in recovery efforts.
| Date Taken: | 09.23.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 09.30.2024 20:26 |
| Story ID: | 482165 |
| Location: | YUMA, ARIZONA, US |
| Web Views: | 22 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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