Marlboro County officials evaluate Lake Paul Wallace dam after latest breach

BENNETTSVILLE, S.C. (WBTW) — People who live in some low-lying communities in Bennettsville are back at home Thursday night after another breach in the Lake Paul Wallace dam forced them to evacuate.

It’s the second time since May the dam has failed. The latest breach affected the Richardson Park and Shady Rest communities.

Marlboro County officials said they were worried about the latest dam breach on Beauty Spot Road after the May breach caused several evacuations. This time, only eight residents had to evacuate.

State officials say internal erosion was blamed for the breach of the “earthen” dam back in May. Both state and local officials spent Thursday working to assess the damage and determine the cause of the latest failure.

County officials said while fewer evacuations were needed this time, it continues to face ongoing issues with the dam. The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, which owns it, said it will perform daily inspections for the next several days since more rain is expected.

“From a county standpoint, the city standpoint, I think we’ve done everything we can locally to try to alleviate this problem,” Marlboro County Director of Operations Jamal Campbell said. “The citizens are definitely tired, as well as the local governing officials in the county, we’re definitely tired.”

Campbell said there’s a need for proactive measures to address the problem. He said they hope to work with state and federal agencies to clean up the creek and find a long-term solution.

“We’re on the cusp of our hurricane season starting. So, you know, we have to be proactive and start thinking, well, what’s to happen come late September, early October?” Campbell said. “So, we need to look with our state and federal agencies and see how we can be proactive and putting some things in place to try to rectify the situation as expeditiously as possible.”

Campbell hopes they can get to the bottom of the situation sooner rather than later.

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Savannah Denton joined News 13 in July 2023 as a reporter and producer. Savannah is from Atlanta, Georgia, and is a graduate of the University of Alabama. Follow Savannah on X, formerly Twitter, and read more of her work here .

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