Updated 3-30-21 at 7:10 p.m. to clarify that Smith Lake is above “full pool,” not “flood stage.”
CULLMAN, Ala. – Recent storms and heavy rains have pushed Smith Lake well above flood stage and people are encouraged to use extreme caution if they decide to head out to the lake. Flooding and damage have also affected Sportsman Lake Park and Clarkson Covered Bridge.
Cullman County Parks and Recreation Director Doug Davenport reported that the waters at Smith Lake are currently at 518 feet, 7 inches.
“Full pool is 510 feet, so we are 8 feet, 7 inches above that,” he said. “The Bassmaster Open had to be called off last weekend because everything was flooded. Some of the local guys are still using the ramp to go out and fish because apparently after a big rain like this, fish are really active, but there is nothing you can tie your boat off to. The ramps are still accessible, but the docks are not.”
This type of flooding isn’t unheard of, as Smith Lake’s water level was higher than it is now after the 2015 Christmas flood.
The water is full of debris right now; Davenport compared the lake’s water to “chocolate milk.”
He added, “Personally, myself, I would be worried about it. You do see a lot of small stuff and there’s a lot that has collected around our docks, at least what is still above the water.”
There is a sign that explains that people should launch at their own risk and Davenport stressed that this is not the time for a novice to head out on the water.
“It is dangerous and there is a lot of debris. A lot of people may not realize that and think that today (Monday) is a sunny day and want to head out to the lake,” Davenport said.
Davenport said he has not received any reports from lake homeowners about their homes being flooded, but he has seen the water level approaching the doors of one home near Brothers on Smith Lake.
“I am not aware of any homeowners who have had to leave due to the flooding,” he said.
Both generators at the dam are running, and Davenport said he is cautiously optimistic as the water level had dropped 1 inch as of Monday afternoon. There is more rain forecast for later in the week that could quickly reverse the progress being made to decrease the levels.
Smith Lake is not the only park that has experienced flooding. The employees of Sportsman Lake Park have had to retrieve paddle boats twice due to rising water.
Clarkson Covered Bridge, which was heavily damaged in 2015, has also sustained damage, said Davenport, who explained, “It got a lot of damage from the water coming through there. We’re needing, probably in all the parks, 10-15 loads of gravel to get our parking lots and shoulders built back up.”
Once the waters do recede, the real cleanup at the parks will begin.
“It’s going to be embarrassing. Even when the water does get down, maybe a week for it to dry out before we get a machine in there to start cleaning up the excess driftwood left behind,” said Davenport. “As soon the water recedes and we can get in there, we will start cleaning it up. Here it is spring, and we’ve got a disaster of a mess of driftwood out there.”
Cullman County Commission Chairman Jeff Clemons was out Monday with the County’s road department to assess all the damage to roads and parks.
He said of the levels at Smith Lake, “It should crest unless we get all these heavy rains Wednesday. Then, it will continue to rise. We hope and pray that we don’t get much more rain.”
Clemons was also unaware of any homes damaged by the water but acknowledged that more rain could certainly put some homes at risk.
“Supposedly we have a 70-80% chance Wednesday, but you just never know. That’s going to make the lake, with all these streams running in, continue to rise,” he warned.
As for rain amounts countywide, Clemons said, “Last year, we got a lot of rain, but we didn’t have near the problem we have with the rains washing out the roads like we have this year. It’s going to continue to happen. We haven’t even gotten into April. Think about what might be in store for April.”
He continued, “When you get 5 inches in about three hours, that normally results in some serious problems and that’s what we’ve got. We got 6 inches the first time and we got about 5 inches Thursday, and that’s why we’ve had so many problems with the roads flooding.”
The chairman said he is hopeful that the rain expected later in the week will be far less that what is predicted. This past Sunday’s early morning storms, while they did bring additional damage due to strong winds, produced lower rain totals due to the fast movement of the line.
“Hopefully, things will settle down soon. Our road department is working just nonstop right now. We got several reports of roads caving in, and that is due to all the rain that we’ve had. The dirt has to settle and when it settles it hardens up, but from the first event to the second, nothing has time to settle. It was just ruined,” Clemons said. “Hopefully, we will have some good news to talk about soon.”
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