Meadow Pond Dam

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The Meadow Pond Dam ( Meadow Pond Dam and Bergeron Pond Dam ) was an earth dam in Alton (New Hampshire) in the United States, which broke in 1996 and caused a tidal wave.

Location

Alton is a town with 4000 inhabitants, situated at the southern end of Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire. A single two-lane road, the route 140 serves the west of the main access to the city. Route 140 crosses the Merrymeeting River west of the city center.

The dam break of the Meadow Pond

Meadow Pond is located on the grounds of the Bergeron family northwest of the river bridge. The Bergeron had bought the estate in the 1990s and built a dam at their own cost, to expand the existing pond. They wanted to use it for boating and other recreational purposes. The reservoir was enlarged to an area of ​​18 acres and a storage capacity of 350,000 cubic meters. It was dammed by a trapezoidal earth dam in cross section, which was 142 m long and 11 m high.

On the evening of 13 March 1996, the wife of the owner noticed that the stream that flowed from the dam to the Merrymeeting River was swollen. Bob Bergeron inspected the dam at 18:46 clock and saw that a 90 cm hole had opened in the dam and the area between his house and the route flooded 140. Less than 10 minutes later - according to other data at 20:00 clock - the dam had failed and put 350,000 cubic meters of water and ice in the direction of the city freely. The breaking of the Meadow Pond Dam led to a fatality, two injuries and damage to several houses.

The tsunami washed away a section of Route 140, which led to a tractor fell into a hole. The driver, Larry Sinclair, was rescued by a neighbor, but his wife Lynda (48 ), who drove in a pickup behind him, was killed when the flood swept their car into a ravine.

Approximately 400 meters of road were destroyed. The flood also caused power outages in Gilmanton, Belmont and Alton. Official had no explanation as to what could have caused the spill, although an investigation was conducted. Experts hold several reasons for possible, for example as simple as a leak in a pipe penetration (possibly Piping ) or ice pressure.