The Big Bay embankment, which is largely intact, is approximately 1890 feet long and 51.3 feet high. The failure occurred with an initial water surface about 6 inches (0.15 m) above the normal pool elevation of 278.0 ft (84.73 m), releasing 14,200 ac-ft (17,500,000 m3) of water and inundating 14.3 miles (23.0 km) of valley to depths of up to 33 ft (10 m) from the dam to the Pearl River.
The Big Bay embankment, which is largely intact, measures approximately 1890 feet long and 51.3 feet high. A failure occurred when the water level was about 6 inches above its normal pool elevation of 278.0 ft (84.73 m), releasing 14,200 acre-feet (17,500,000 cubic meters) of water and flooding 14.3 miles (23.0 km) of the valley to depths up to 33 feet (10 m) from the dam to the Pearl River.