Reservoar nr 1, en vattenförsörjning på 180 miljoner gallon som har varit ur drift stora delar av de senaste decennierna, sitter mot bakgrund av stadens silhuett, 15 oktober, 2019, i Atlanta. Staden gjorde reparationer och tog den online igen 2017, bara för att stänga av den igen efter att vattenläckor upptäcktes nära företag belägna under dammen. Om dammen skulle misslyckas katastrofalt, vattnet kan översvämma mer än 1, 000 småhus, dussintals företag, en järnväg och en del av Interstate 75, enligt en nödåtgärdsplan. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
En kall morgon förra mars, Kenny Angel fick en hektisk knackning på sin dörr. Två arbetare från ett allmännyttigt företag i norra Nebraska hade kommit med en skarp varning:Gå ut ur ditt hus.
Bara en dryg kvartsmil uppströms, den 92-åriga Spencer Dam ansträngde sig för att hålla tillbaka de svullna, istäckta Niobrarafloden efter en ovanligt intensiv snö och regnstorm. Arbetarna hade försökt men misslyckats med att tvinga öppna dammens frusna träportar. Så, fruktar det värsta, de flydde i sin lastbil, stannar för att varna Angel innan han kör iväg utan honom.
Minuter senare, dammen rasade, släpper lös en våg av vatten som bär isbitar lika stora som bilar. Angels hem torkades bort; hans kropp hittades aldrig.
"Han hade ungefär 5 minuters varsel, utan föregående varning dagen innan, "Scott Angel, en av Kennys bröder, sa.
Statliga inspektörer hade gett dammen ett "rättvist" betyg mindre än ett år tidigare. Tills det misslyckades, det såg lite annorlunda ut från tusentals andra över hela USA – och det kan vara ett problem.
En mer än två år lång undersökning av Associated Press har hittat mängder av dammar i hela landet i ännu värre skick, och på lika farliga platser. De skymtar över hem, företag, motorvägar eller hela samhällen som kan möta livshotande översvämningar om dammarna inte håller.
Denna kombination av bilder från Nebraska Department of Natural Resources, visar Spencer Dam nära Spencer, Neb., i november 2013, topp, när den höll tillbaka vattnet på Niobrarafloden och igen i mars 2019, efter att dammen havererat under en översvämning. Statliga inspektörer hade gett dammen ett "rättvist" betyg mindre än ett år tidigare. Tills det misslyckades, det såg lite annorlunda ut från tusentals andra över hela USA, och det kan vara ett problem. (Nebraska Department of Natural Resources via AP)
En genomgång av federala data och rapporter som erhållits under statliga lagar om öppna register identifierade 1, 688 högriskdammar bedömdes i dåligt eller otillfredsställande skick förra året i 44 delstater och Puerto Rico. Det faktiska antalet är nästan säkert högre:Vissa stater avböjde att ge tillståndsbetyg för sina dammar, anspråk på undantag från begäran om offentliga register. Andra har helt enkelt inte betygsatt alla sina dammar på grund av bristande finansiering, personal eller befogenhet att göra det.
Dödsfall från dammhaveri har minskat sedan en serie katastrofala kollapser på 1970-talet fick de federala och delstatliga regeringarna att intensifiera sina säkerhetsinsatser. Ändå ungefär 1, 000 dammar har havererat under de senaste fyra decennierna, dödade 34 människor, enligt Stanford Universitys National Performance of Dams Program.
Byggd för översvämningskontroll, bevattning, vattentillgång, vattenkraft, rekreation eller lagring av industriavfall, nationens dammar är i genomsnitt över ett halvt sekel gamla. Vissa är inte längre tillräckliga för att hantera den intensiva nederbörden och översvämningarna i ett förändrat klimat. Ändå litar man på dem för att skydda fler och fler människor när bostadsbyggande växer upp i närheten.
"Det finns tusentals människor i det här landet som lever nedströms från dammar som förmodligen anses vara bristfälliga med nuvarande säkerhetsstandarder, sa Mark Ogden, en före detta damsäkerhetstjänsteman i Ohio som nu är teknisk specialist hos Association of State Dam Safety Officials.
Föreningen uppskattar att det skulle ta mer än 70 miljarder dollar att reparera och modernisera landets mer än 90, 000 dammar. Men till skillnad från mycket annan infrastruktur, de flesta amerikanska dammar är privatägda. Det gör det svårt för tillsynsmyndigheter att kräva förbättringar från operatörer som inte kan eller vill betala de höga kostnaderna.
"De flesta människor har ingen aning om sårbarheterna när de bor nedströms från dessa privata dammar, " sa Craig Fugate, en tidigare administratör på Federal Emergency Management Agency. "När de misslyckas, de misslyckas inte med varning. De misslyckas bara, och plötsligt kan du befinna dig i en situation där du har en vägg av vatten och skräp som rusar mot ditt hus med mycket kort tid, om någon, att komma ut."
Joel Iverson, operativ chef för Monday Night Brewing, är fotograferad i bryggeriet som ligger bredvid reservoar nr 1, en vattenförsörjning på 180 miljoner gallon som har varit ur drift stora delar av de senaste decennierna, 15 oktober, 2019, i Atlanta. Iverson har tidigare märkt att vatten sipprar ut från sluttningen av dammen nära bryggeriet han var med och grundade. "Om den går, det kommer att skölja bort oss och en massa öl, " sa Iverson. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
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Det är oklart om Angel, en 71-årig veteran från Vietnamkriget, avböjde att fly eller fick helt enkelt ont om tid efter att arbetare i Nebraska Public Power District varnat honom för att vattnet vällde över dammen nära Spencer, en stad med färre än 500 invånare.
En advokat för Angels fru, som inte var hemma när dammen brast, har lämnat in en stämningsansökan på 5 miljoner dollar angående vårdslöshet. Det hävdar att kraftverket misslyckades med att underhålla dammen ordentligt, utbilda sina anställda eller informera Änglarna om farliga förhållanden.
Även om änglarnas hem var helt i vägen, dammen bedömdes som en "betydande" snarare än "hög" fara, vilket betyder att det inte krävdes enligt Nebraskas lag att ha en formell nödåtgärdsplan. Cirka 20 % av statligt reglerade högriskdammar i landet saknar fortfarande nödplaner, enligt U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, som upprätthåller den nationella damminventeringen.
Vid senast besiktning i april 2018, Spencer Dams "rättvisa" betyg åtföljdes av en olycksbådande notation:"Det finns brister som kan leda till dammfel under sällsynta, extrema stormhändelser."
Tim Gokie, chefsingenjör för Nebraskas dammsäkerhetsprogram, sa att varningen berodde på tidigare vattenläckage som kraftverket åtgärdade genom att installera ett avloppssystem. I sista hand, Gokie sa, den stigande floden Niobrara överväldigade helt enkelt betong- och jorddammen, som byggdes 1927 för att generera vattenkraft, inte för översvämningskontroll.
I denna 27 dec. 2018, Foto, Murray Beach, en investeringsbankman som bor på stranden av Willett Pond, pekar ut sjöns utlopp, som ligger på gränsen mellan Norwood och Walpole, Mass. Utloppet vid den 107-åriga Willett Pond Dam kan hantera bara 13 % av vattenflödet från en allvarlig översvämning innan dammen är övertoppad, enligt en färsk statlig inspektionsrapport. "Vi pratar inte om att bara översvämma någons hus. Vi pratar om att täcka deras hus, sa Beach, som tillhör en medborgargrupp som har lobbat i åratal för att brädden ska repareras. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
"Faktum var att det bara var en situation utan motstycke, "Nebraska Public Power Districts talesman Mark Becker sa. "Det var bortom vad alla förväntade sig."
Nebraska var bland de stater som drabbades hårdast av stormar och översvämningar i år som har orsakat uppskattningsvis 1,5 miljarder dollar i skador på vägar, dammar, verktyg och annan infrastruktur i 28 stater, enligt en AP-analys.
En nationell klimatbedömning som släpptes av Vita huset förra året noterade växande frekvens och intensitet av stormar när klimatet förändras. Det kan driva vissa dammar bortom vad de var designade för att hantera.
Även om det hålls i gott skick, tusentals dammar kan vara i fara på grund av extrema regnstormar, sa Fugate, den tidigare FEMA-tjänstemannen.
"De här är som tickande bomber som bara sitter där, väntar på att fel förhållanden ska uppstå för att orsaka katastrofala misslyckanden, " han sa.
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A vehicle passes over the spillway at Willett Pond on the border of Norwood and Walpole, Massa., 27 december, 2018. If the dam were to give way, it could send hundreds of millions of gallons of water into the heart of the Norwood, a Boston suburb of nearly 30, 000 personer. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
The nation's dams are categorized as high, significant or low hazard in the National Inventory of Dams database. High hazard means loss of human life is likely if a dam were to fail. A significant rating means no deaths are likely, although economic and environmental damage are possible.
There is no national standard for inspecting dams, leading to a patchwork of state regulations. Some states inspect high-hazard dams every year while others wait up to five years. Some states never inspect low-hazard dams—though even farm ponds can eventually pose a high hazard as housing developments encroach.
Dam conditions are supposed to be rated as unsatisfactory, poor, fair or satisfactory. But the ratings are subjective—varying by state and the interpretations of individual inspectors—and are not always publicly disclosed.
Since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, the U.S. government has cited national security grounds in refusing to include dams' conditions in its inventory, which was updated most recently in 2018. But the AP was able to determine both condition and hazard ratings for more than 25, 000 dams across the country through public records requests.
The tally includes some of the nation's most well-known dams, such as Hoover Dam along the Colorado River, but mostly involves privately owned dams. Many are used for recreation.
The AP then examined inspection reports for hundreds of high-hazard dams in poor or unsatisfactory condition. Those reports cited a variety of problems:leaks that can indicate a dam is failing internally; unrepaired erosion from past instances of overtopping; holes from burrowing animals; tree growth that can destabilize earthen dams; and spillways too small to handle a large flood. Some dams were so overgrown with vegetation that they couldn't be fully inspected.
A surveyor walks the banks of the Mill River, at the site of the former Whittenton Pond Dam, just upstream from downtown Taunton, Massa., July 25, 2018. The dam was removed following concerns that the 170-year-old plus structure could fail, after it buckled and nearly failed in 2005. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Georgia led the nation with nearly 200 high-hazard dams in unsatisfactory or poor condition, according to the AP's analysis.
Among them is Reservoir No. 1 in Atlanta, a 180 million-gallon water supply dating to the late 1800s that has been out of service much of the past few decades. The city made repairs and brought it back online in 2017, only to shut it down again after leaks were noticed.
If the dam were to catastrophically fail, the water could inundate more than 1, 000 hem, dozens of businesses, a railroad and a portion of Interstate 75, according to an emergency action plan .
Joel Iverson has previously noticed water trickling out of the dam near the brewery he co-founded, Monday Night Brewing.
"If that one goes, it's going to wash away us and a lot of beer, " Iverson said.
The Atlanta Watershed Management Department declined the AP's request for an interview about the reservoir and instead asked for questions in writing. When those were submitted, it declined to answer them.
In this April 2, 2019, fil foto, water flows down the Oroville Dam spillway in Oroville, Calif. The state spent $1.1 billion repairing the Lake Oroville spillway, enacted new emergency plan requirements and launched a review of 93 other dams with similar spillways. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, Fil)
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One of the most common problems for aging dams are spillways incapable of handling an extreme rainfall event.
If water can't escape quickly enough through spillways, it could flow over the top of a dam, which increases the probability of rapid erosion that can cause it to collapse.
The spillway at the 107-year-old Willett Pond Dam near the Boston suburb of Norwood is capable of handling just 13% of the water flow from a serious flood before the dam is overtopped, according to a recent state inspection report. If the dam were to give way, it could send hundreds of millions of gallons of water into the heart of the city of nearly 30, 000 personer.
"We are not talking of just flooding someone's house. We are talking about covering their house, " said Murray Beach, who lives on the shore of the 220-acre privately owned lake and belongs to a citizens group that has lobbied for years for the spillway to be repaired.
A 2017 inspection report said improvements to the spillway could cost between $1 million and $5 million. A nonprofit that owns the lake received a $215, 000 state grant last year to design spillway improvements. But there is no timeline to fix it.
I denna 30 nov. 2017, fil foto, work continues on the Oroville Dam spillway in Oroville, Calif. The scare at Oroville, the nation's tallest dam, led to evacuation orders for nearly 200, 000 personer, although no one was injured and the dam ultimately held. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, Fil) 
Tamiko Porter, who operates a Montessori school serving some 75 students, said she was surprised to learn there was a dam upstream that could flood her school if it failed.
"Åh Gud, please let it happen when my kids aren't here, " Porter said.
Norwood emergency management director Bernard Cooper said there is no imminent risk of dam failure.
"Ja, it needs work. The spillway should be rebuilt. Absolutely, no question, " Cooper acknowledged. But "there is no money in the system for that."
Concerns about inadequate dam spillways date back decades to when the Corps of Engineers undertook its first nationwide assessment of dams posing a high risk to life and property. From 1978 to 1981, the Corps inspected 8, 818 dams. About one-third were deemed unsafe due to deficiencies, and about 80% of those cited inadequate spillway capacities.
Hunter Croan walks along a dried-up section of Lake Dunlap, 30 september, 2019, in Lake Dunlap, Texas. Croan is one of many homeowners who were left high and dry, their lakeside docks now dry as the Guadalupe River retreated to its natural bed after the the center spill gate of the lake's 91-year-old dam failed. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
One of the dams cited for a "seriously inadequate" spillway in 1978 was Lake Sebago, located in a New York state park near the village of Sloatsburg. Fyrtio år senare, nothing has changed.
A 2018 state inspection letter warned of "inadequate spillway capacity and dam stability" and asked for an improvement plan within 30 days. None was provided.
The state dam safety office has no authority to force the state parks department to make repairs.
To modify the Lake Sebago spillway, workers would have to rebuild a road and bridge that pass over the dam. The project could cost over $15 million, said Jim Hall, the recently retired executive director of the Palisades Interstate Park Commission, which manages multiple dams.
"That structure has been in place with the same spillway capacity for over probably 60 to 70 years and it hasn't been overtopped, " Hall said. "Should it be improved to meet all codes? Ja, that would be nice. Does it make it the highest priority for us to do in relation to other dam structures we have? Probably not."
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Water flows over a spill gate on Lake McQueeney, 2 oktober, 2019, Lake McQueeney, Texas. A judge has issued a 12-month temporary injunction preventing the draining of McQueeney and five other lakes along the Guadalupe River after property owners sued. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
In a 1982 report summarizing its nationwide dam assessment, the Corps of Engineers said most dam owners were unwilling to modify, repair or maintain the structures, and most states were unwilling to spend enough money for an effective dam safety program.
Sedan dess, every state but Alabama has created a dam safety program.
But the Great Recession a decade ago forced many states to make widespread budget and personnel cuts. Since a low point in 2011, states' total spending on dam safety has grown by about one-third to nearly $59 million in the 2019 fiscal year while staffing levels have risen by about one-fifth, according to data collected by the Corps of Engineers.
Kalifornien, which runs the nation's largest dam safety program, accounts for much of that gain. It boosted its budget from $13 million to $20 million and the number of full-time staff from 63 to 77 following the failure of the Oroville dam spillway in 2017.
The scare at Oroville, the nation's tallest dam, led to evacuation orders for nearly 200, 000 personer, although no one was injured and the dam ultimately held. An independent investigation cited "a long-term systemic failure " by regulators and the dam industry to recognize and address warning signs.
California spent $1.1 billion repairing the Lake Oroville spillway, enacted new emergency plan requirements and launched a review of 93 other dams with similar spillways.
Water spurts through a wood section of a spill gate on Lake McQueeney, 2 oktober, 2019, Lake McQueeney, Texas. A judge has issued a temporary injunction preventing the draining of the lakes along the Guadalupe River as a result of an agreement between suing property owners and the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
I South Carolina, after more than 70 dams failed following heavy rains in 2015 and 2016, the state tripled the personnel in its dam safety program and ratcheted up spending from about $260, 000 annually to more than $1 million.
But some states have continued to pare back their dam safety programs. Thirteen states and Puerto Rico were spending less in 2019 than they did in 2011, and 11 states had fewer full-time positions in their programs.
The Association of State Dam Safety Officials says almost every state faces a serious need to pump additional money and manpower into dam safety programs.
"If you don't have the staff to inspect a dam, or don't have the authority to do that, you don't know what the problems are, " said the association's Ogden.
"If you are able to do the inspection but you can't follow up, and you have dam owners who don't have the resources to fix their dam, then ultimately you know what the problem is but you can't get it addressed, " han lade till.
Many states face a quandary when it comes to problematic private dams when they can't identify the owners. Rhode Island's two-person dam safety office last year listed 32 high- or significant-hazard dams with safety concerns whose owners were unknown.
Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority's John Moryl walks through the hydroelectric plant at the spill gates on Lake McQueeney, 2 oktober, 2019, in Lake McQueeney, Texas. The Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority announced plans to drain a chain of six lakes, including Lake McQueeney. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
"If we don't know the owner, then we can't take any action to order anybody to fix it, " said David Chopy, chief of compliance and inspection for the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management.
In some states, dams go uninspected because of exemptions in state law.
A 2013 Texas law exempts all dams on private property with a capacity of less than 163 million gallons that are rated significant or low hazard and are located outside of city limits in any county with fewer than 350, 000 personer. Som ett resultat, about 45% of its roughly 7, 200 dams are exempt from regulation.
Missouri performs safety inspections on only about 650 of its more than 5, 000 dams. That's because state law exempts all dams that are under 35 feet, used for agricultural purposes or subject to federal regulation.
Former Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt attempted to significantly expand the number of dams under state supervision after the mountaintop Taum Sauk Reservoir collapsed in December 2005, injuring a state park superintendent's family. But the legislation failed after some rural landowners expressed concerns. Then the proposal quietly faded away as new officials took over.
"Maybe it's time to take a look at that again and make sure that our dams are safe, " said Missouri state Rep. Tim Remole, who now leads the House committee overseeing dam safety.
This March 14, 2006, fil foto, shows damage after a dam burst near Kilauea, on the Hawaiian island of Kauai. An earthen wall of the Kaloko Reservoir collapsed during heavy rains and sent a wave of water and mud rushing down a hillside. Seven people were killed on Bruce Fehring's property, including his daughter, son-in-law and grandson. (AP Photo/Casey Riemer, Fil)
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Until Angel's death in Nebraska this year, the last fatal dam failure in the U.S. occurred on the Hawaiian island of Kauai in 2006.
An earthen wall of the Kaloko Reservoir collapsed during heavy rains and sent a wave of water rushing down a hillside. Seven people—including a pregnant woman—were killed on Bruce Fehring's property, including his daughter, son-in-law and grandson.
Fehring, who wasn't there at the time, got a phone call from a neighbor saying something terrible had happened. He was shocked by the scene.
"It took a while to register, and I went, 'Oh my God, everything's been washed away, '" Fehring recalled. "I mean, you have no idea the power of water (until) you see what it can do in a very short amount of time."
Dam owner James Pflueger pleaded no contest to felony reckless endangerment and was sentenced to seven months of confinement and five years of probation. His property company pleaded no contest to seven counts of manslaughter. Prosecutors said Pflueger had filled in the dam's spillway while attempting to make space for a waterfront development.
Den 21 maj 2006, fil foto, Bruce Fehring and his wife Cyndee, Centrum, lead a procession toward Kahili Quarry Beach during a memorial service to honor those killed when the Kaloko Dam failed in Kilauea, on the Hawaiian island of Kauai. An earthen wall of the Kaloko Reservoir collapsed during heavy rains and sent a wave of water and mud rushing down a hillside. Seven people were killed on Fehring's property, including his daughter, son-in-law and grandson. (Jamm Aquino/Honolulu Star-Bulletin via AP, Fil)
Tess Coody-Anders, a university executive and homeowner near Lake McQueeney, one of the dams slated to be drained, stands near a sign showing the lake is closed, 30 september, 2019, in Lake McQueeney, Texas. "This is something that communities and states all across the country are grappling with as we are reckoning with our aging infrastructure, " said Coody-Anders. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
The victims' families and those whose property was damaged, including actress Bette Midler, agreed to a $25 million civil settlement. Though categorized by the state as low hazard at the time it failed, Kaloko Reservoir is now listed as a high-hazard facility in poor condition . It remains largely unrepaired.
That's also the case with Lake Dunlap Dam, northeast of San Antonio. On a sunny morning in May, one of the 91-year-old dam's corroded spillway gates suddenly gave way. No one was hurt in the rush of water, but scores of homeowners' lakeside docks were left high and dry, facing barren swaths of dried lakebed after the river retreated, leaving boats stranded.
The dam was the second hydroelectric facility along the river to fail within the past three years. The Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority responded with plans to drain a chain of four lakes because of concerns their similarly designed spillway gates also could fail.
But after property owners sued, the river authority agreed in September to a temporary injunction delaying the plan for a year. That could allow time to find funding for the estimated $90 million to $210 million to repair the dams.
Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority's John Moryl looks over the spill gates at Lake Dunlap, 2 oktober, 2019, in Lake Dunlap, Texas. One of the spill gates at the dam failed in May and the lake drained down to the original channel of the Guadalupe River. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
"This is something that communities and states all across the country are grappling with as we are reckoning with our aging infrastructure, " said Tess Coody-Anders, a homeowner near Lake McQueeney, one of the dams slated to be drained.
"I hope that everyone will recognize that, like in our community, entire economies and ways of life have developed around what started out as a civil engineering project, " she added. "And you can't take that away."
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