2010 Nashville flood: larger-scale disaster barely averted at Old Hickory Lake's dam

There are a series of dams up Cumberland River from Nashville that the Army Corps of Engineers operates to keep our city and other communities from flooding. Here's a Corp report on how it dealt with the record-breaking rainfall last weekend to avert flooding.

There is an ominous note about the dam at Old Hickory Lake, one of the reservoirs closest to Nashville:

· Old Hickory Lake has been used to hold back water from Nashville and was hit with heavy rainfall on Saturday and Sunday, causing the lake to reach a record elevation of 451.4. At 452, we would have lost control of the project.

This is too close for comfort. Things could have been much worse.