Automated Dam Release Warnings in Question After Man's Death

March 14, 2010 By: Marshall Cutchin

64-year-old Ira Braitsch died Sunday when his boat capsized on an unusually rough Chattahoochee River in Georgia. Family and friends say that Braitsch was told that their would be no release from Buford Dam. But the Army Corp of Engineers said the updated information was posted on Saturday, and called the Buford system among the most effective in the U.S.
“Bob Hove, whose two sons are avid fly-fishermen, told the Daily Post the automated system made no mention of water releases as late as Saturday night. Braitsch and his friend — Michael Boyle, 67, who survived — reportedly hit a log and went in the water just before noon Sunday.” Josh Green in the Gwinnett Daily Post.