Aging Kirkpatrick Dam poses risk to residents in Welaka, elsewhere in Putnam as we all mourn innocent lives lost in the tragedy in Texas and the unexpected nature of the horrific flooding, the potential risk for our neighbors in Welaka weighs heavy on my mind.

Although the threat is different, it is still real. The fact is that a very real danger, the aging Rodman/Kirkpatrick Dam, sits upstream from our residents. The dam is past its life expectancy, and no evacuation plan exists to get Welaka area residents out of harm’s way…