 In 1977, a disaster would show the risks of heavy rainfall on an embankment dam, resulting in structural failure. The resulting floodwater would cause nearly $3 million worth of damage and cost 39 lives. What was strange was that the structure was not new, instead it was in its final arrangement for over 30 years, which really shows that nothing is solid forever. Dam disasters are always scary incidents, as seemingly unmovable imposing structures give the false sense of security for the vast water it holds back. This is why when a dam does fail, it does so spectacularly. The Kelly Barnes Dam had the double surprise of being a pretty well established structure, with varying designs being employed on the site ever since 1899, with failure occurring in 1977. Although the final iteration at the site was not as grand as say the Sayano Shoshenska, due to it being a relatively simple earthen dam. Today's subject I'm going to rate it here 6 on the Plain Difficult Disaster Scale, and here 4 on the Historical Legacy Scale, as it is a relatively unknown failure in comparison to say the Vaillant disaster. The city of Takoa, Georgia is a smallish municipality with a population today of around 8,000 people. For the purpose of this subject, we're going to start all the way back in time in the late 19th century. Takoa was destined to have a hydroelectric plant, and as such, this necessitated a reservoir. In 1899, a rock crib dam was built by E.P. Simpson. It was located on the headwaters of the Takoa Creek, 1.7 miles northwest of the center of Takoa, Stevens County, Georgia. The structure had a riveted steel penstock that extended from the dam to the powerhouse below, the waterfall to utilise the 280ft head difference for power generation. The power plant went into operation the same year and was capable of a 200kW output. In the 1930s, the Georgia Power Company purchased the local power distribution system, passing the title of the dam, lake and power station to the Takoa Falls Institute. The original dam height was increased in 1937, as power demands for more stable electricity increased. Between 1939 and 1940, the 38th high earthenfield dam called the Kelly Barnes dam was built on top of the original rock crib dam. Mr Kelly Barnes was the business manager for the Takoa Falls Institute, and that is how it got its name. Now I really need a dam named after me. The F dam incorporated most of the old crib into its downstream tow. The structure was concave, upstream, filling a narrow portion of gorge formed by the Takoa Creek. The impounded lake at normal pool elevation was approximately 40 acres, holding back around 17 million cubic feet of water. An additional steel pipe was built to work as a low level spillway for the dam. During the works, the power plant was also upgraded, and masonry structures were built around this and the original penstock with valves controlling flow. An additional earthen spillway was added and this took the normal overflow of water. Post-water dam was again heightened. Due to the works happening over the years, no real design was really put on paper, and this would prove difficult for investigators later on. The power plant was eventually shut down in 1957, leaving the dam and its lake for recreational use. After the dam was kind of left unattended, with no efficient inspections or routine of maintenance. As such, the main structure and its abutments became overgrown with bushes and trees. The foliage meant that the low level spitway and penstock was visibly obstructed. During the early 1970s, reports of continual seepage from the downstream slope of the dam near the point of the exit spillway pipe were made. At some point, a large embankment slide had occurred on the downstream face around 1973. Neglected and not inspected, the old earthen dam was arguably a disaster waiting to happen, and that leads us onto 1977. During the period between November 2nd and November 5th, around 3.2 inches of rainfall was experienced in the region. The water from the rain started to fill up the barn's reservoir, bulging its banks. The rain got heavier during the evening of November 5th. At around 11.30pm, volunteer workers went to the dam to inspect its condition from the rainfall, and in the winter darkness all seemed well. Just a few hours later, in the early hours of the 6th November 1977, at approximately 1.30am, the Kelly Barnes Dam's main structure failed in the heavy rain. The failure released the water it held up down the Takoa Creek on a collision course with the Takoa Falls Institute. One of the campus dorms would see the disaster's first victims as the tremendous power of the water swept through the area. In total, 200 feet of dam had failed, releasing, at its peak flow, 24,000 cubic feet per second, washing away 9 houses, 18 house trailers, two college buildings and multiple vehicles. In total, 39 would lose their lives during the event. Due to the time, many residents were in bed asleep, leaving little chance of reacting to the sudden flow of water. In addition to the human cost, 5 houses and 5 college buildings were damaged. Two bridges on Takoa Falls Drive and a culvert at County Farm Road were completely destroyed and Georgia's Route 77 which travelled through Takoa received considerable damage. The city itself saw some damage from the floodwater, creating a local emergency. The water supply to the city was also damaged, contaminating the drinking water for several days. A day after the disaster, an investigation was ordered by Governor Busby, appointing a task force on dam safety to look at the causes of the dam failure. The investigation was conducted by the US Geological Survey, was concluded fairly quickly by December 1977, without a definitive reason for the failure. Instead, several probable causes were settled upon. This wasn't so much the investigators thought, as I mentioned earlier, no proper plans or diagrams were made of the dam during its evolution, leaving eyewitness accounts, historical photos and newspaper clippings to try and help build up a picture on the construction techniques used. Some of the causes for failure were linked with poor maintenance due to the dam's embankments being heavily vegetated, with tree roots severely weakening the structure. This is likely as parts of the dam had slid from their original position in 1973, hinting that a similar situation could have unfolded in 1977. The slide in 1973 created tension cracks, which could have further weakened the structure during the period of rainfall allowing seepage. Furthermore, the long period of rain eroded away the downstream slope, leading to a localised overtopping of the dam, causing a chain reaction of more erosion and finally total structure failure. Another sighted cause was that of the low level inlet pipe failing, rupturing or becoming blocked, leading to seepage and weakening of the structure from within. Although the exact cause is unknown, one thing that is certain is that poor maintenance was of root cause, as proper inspection and remediation work would have highlighted failure and stress points that needed to be addressed. What is most likely is that probably all of the highlighted causes contributed to the failure, as the dam was weakened over a period of time. As a side note, what is strange is that this disaster is another one I've covered on this channel under the Carter administration. Regardless of the failure cause, it is yet another reason why maintenance is very important, be it your car or a dam. Thanks for watching, I hope you enjoyed the video. This video is a plain difficult production. All videos on the channel are created commons attribution share alike licensed. Plainly difficult videos are produced by me John in a sunny southeastern corner of London UK. Help the channel grow by liking, commenting and subscribing. Check out my Twitter for all sorts of photos and odds and sods, as well as hidden song future videos. I've got Patreon and YouTube membership as well, so if you fancy supporting the channel financially, you can bear. And all that's left to say is thank you for watching.