Big Bay Dam facts for kids
The Big Bay Dam was an earthen dam located near Purvis, Mississippi, in Lamar County. It was built using earth and rock. On March 12, 2004, the dam broke apart, releasing a huge amount of water. This happened about 12 years after it was built.
The dam was about 1,890 feet (576 meters) long and 51.3 feet (15.6 meters) high. When it failed, the water level was only about 6 inches (0.15 meters) higher than normal. This released 17.5 million cubic meters (about 4.6 billion gallons) of water. The flood covered 14.3 miles (23.0 km) of the valley, with water as deep as 33 feet (10 meters) in some places.
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What Happened to the Dam?
The dam broke because of something called "piping." This is when water starts to seep through the dam's structure. Over time, this seeping water carries away small bits of soil. This creates a small tunnel, or "pipe," inside the dam.
Once a pipe forms, it can grow bigger very quickly. The water pressure then causes the tunnel to collapse, leading to a sudden break in the dam. This is what happened at Big Bay Dam.
The Break-Up Timeline
People first noticed water leaking from the dam on Thursday, March 11. This leak slowly got bigger. By the next morning, the water was carrying soil with it.
Around mid-morning on March 12, the leak was checked. Water was bubbling up from a hole. By 12:15 PM, water was "shooting out of the hole." Soon after, it was "spouting approximately 2 to 3 feet high."
The ground around this bubbling water then collapsed. The dam began to break apart very quickly. The main break started around 12:20 PM. The dam finished breaking by about 1:15 PM. This means the whole process of the dam breaking took about 55 minutes.
How Big Was the Break?
The hole, or "breach," in the dam was very large. It was measured to be about 230 feet (70 meters) wide at the bottom. At the top, it was even wider, about 315 feet (96 meters).
The Impact of the Flood
The floodwaters rushed through Bay Creek and Lower Little Creek. These creeks are in Lamar and Marion Counties. The flood caused a lot of damage to homes and buildings.
In Lamar County, 26 homes and 25 mobile homes were completely destroyed. Many other homes had major or minor damage. In Marion County, one home and one mobile home were destroyed. Many other homes and mobile homes were also damaged.
Two churches, Pine Burr Church and Hub Chapel Church, were damaged. The Pinebur Volunteer Fire Department also suffered major damage. In total, 104 buildings were damaged or destroyed.
Even though the damage was severe, it is important to know that no one lost their life in this event.
