Big Creek Lake is a 3,600-acre man-made reservoir that holds 17 billion gallons of water and serves as the main source of drinking water for Mobile, Alabama, and other nearby municipalities, producing roughly 60 million gallons of potable water a day.
Apparently, someone wanted to blow up the dam holding it all back.
‘We are fortunate that this device was discovered before it could cause serious damage.’
Divers conducting a routine repair at the dam hemming in the lake, which is also called the Converse Reservoir, discovered an explosive device hidden under water on Tuesday, according to Alabama’s largest water utility, the Mobile Area Water and Sewer System.
Following the discovery of an apparent grenade-type IED at the dam, the MAWSS alerted the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office, reported Al.com. The sheriff’s office subsequently initiated a multi-agency response — which included FBI, Mobile Police Department, and Alabama Law Enforcement Agency bomb squads as well as the Daphne Search and Rescue Team — to secure and neutralize the device.
The Gulf Coast Regional Maritime Response and Render-Safe Team ultimately retrieved and detonated the IED.
The reservoir — public access to which MAWSS has been fighting to restrict — and the dam are federally designated critical infrastructure.
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Mobile, Alabama. Carol M. Highsmith/Buyenlarge/Getty Images
“Our top priority is keeping your drinking water safe,” MAWSS Director Bud McCrory said in a statement. “This is an unprecedented threat, and we are fortunate that this device was discovered before it could cause serious damage to our water supply or harm to individuals.”
“We are grateful for the professionalism and competency of our law enforcement partners — as well as the quick thinking of our contractors and divers — in identifying this device and safely destroying it,” added McCrory.
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