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Branson reviews flood response plans for releases from Table Rock Dam
Summary
City staff reviewed emergency planning for flooding downstream from Table Rock Dam, described partnerships with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the National Weather Service, and said evacuation maps and a Silver Jackets planning effort are underway.
Branson officials heard a presentation Wednesday on emergency operations planning for flooding along Lake Taneycomo and other waterways fed by Table Rock (Tablerock) Dam.
Fire Chief Ted Martin said the city is improving evacuation, communication and infrastructure planning after past floods and is working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the National Weather Service and state and county partners. He told the Board of Aldermen the city is a National Weather Service StormReady community and plans to use Corps inundation maps and local GIS data to map evacuation zones, roads and at-risk infrastructure.
Martin said the White River system dams reduce what would otherwise be much larger uncontrolled flows and noted the highest recent flow at the dam occurred in 2015, when river flows approached about 72,000–73,000 cubic feet per second. He said floodwater has in the past affected roads, sewer lift stations, the wastewater plant, the city’s water intake, campgrounds, parks, residential neighborhoods and commercial businesses along Lake Taneycomo.
The presentation outlined ongoing work including updated inundation mapping, a planned Silver Jackets collaboration with the Corps of Engineers to develop evacuation plans by zone, and improvements to the city’s warning systems and emergency operations center. Martin said the city is continuing tabletop and functional exercises with partners and is restarting the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program. He noted new equipment, satellite connectivity in the EOC, and a funded emergency management position to coordinate the work.
Alderman LeBlanc raised concern about Branson Landing residents and asked that staff meet the Landing’s homeowners association to explain evacuation expectations and property-level steps; Martin agreed to follow up and said the city evacuated the Landing neighborhood in 2015 with no complaints.
Martin also addressed dam security and failure scenarios at a high level, saying assessments of structural integrity and cybersecurity are handled with the Corps of Engineers and that gate operations are human-controlled. He cautioned that some details are held as sensitive security information but said Corps monitoring and joint planning with city staff have improved.
The board did not take formal action during the presentation; staff said they would follow up with additional stakeholder meetings and exercises and planned continued coordination with the Corps, Missouri Department of Transportation and other partners.
