County of Lexington advises dam, private reservoir and pond owners to begin lowering water levels

The Lexington County Department of Public Safety is advising owners of private dams, reservoirs and ponds to begin lowering the water levels of their bodies of water ahead of Hurricane Matthew, which could bring heavy wind and rain to the Midlands throughout the weekend.

South Carolina Emergency Management Division advises that hurricane force winds can topple trees causing large voids where trees are uprooted. Loss of soil from a dam can impact its structural integrity and can provide a path for water from the pond to exit in an uncontrolled manner. This condition may lead to failure of the dam.

The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control has implemented the CodeRED system to automatically notify dam owners via voice call, text messages and email to take steps in preparation for the potential significant rainfall. If you have not already signed up to receive messages from the CodeRED system, you can sign up through the following link:http://www.scemd.org/component/content/article/2-uncategorised/177-codered-alerts-from-scemd

The Lexington County Department of Emergency Management remains in OpCon 3, which is a partial to full activation of the County’s Emergency Operation Center. County officials are continuing to monitor the storms progress, as it makes its way up the East coast of Florida as a projected Category 4 Hurricane.

All Lexington County government offices, including administrative offices and County recycling centers, are closed Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016, and Friday, Oct. 7, 2016.

This will include the following offices:

• County Libraries
• Lexington County Recreations and Aging Commission Offices and Activities
• County Judicial Facilities

·         County Administration offices

·         Lexington County Judicial Center

·         Lexington County Magistrate Courts

·         Solid Waste Collection & Recycling Centers

·         Lexington County Landfill & Solid Waste Administrative Offices

·         All Lexington County school districts

Bond Court:

Court will operate from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Curbside Solid Waste Collection:

Franchise Residential Solid Waste Curbside Collection service will be provided by Advanced Disposal and Waste Industries on Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2016, and will continue normal operations until otherwise determined. The Lexington County landfill will only be open for commercial use, which includes curbside collection companies.

Waste Industries                                  Advanced Disposal

(Phone)  803-935-0249                       (Phone) 803-256-7276

Residents are urged to also monitor the County’s website (lex-co.sc.gov) and social media channels (Twitter: @CountyLex; Facebook: County of Lexington) updated County information throughout the storm.