Troup County residents, especially those in West Point, have followed the heart-breaking stories of flooding across north Georgia with compassion - and comprehension. The tragic tales - losses of life, destruction of property, financial hardships, the misery and dangers of cleanup - are all too familiar.

West Point, in particular, understands flooding.

This time, thankfully, many can say “There but for the grace of God - and West Point Dam - go I.”

The dam and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers members who managed it through the crisis did their jobs well.

Damage in West Point was minimal, limited largely to a ball-field/park area located in the flood plain and expected to flood.

Some facilities above the dam, including Highland Marina, had some flooding, but no serious property damage.

Enough water got let out to prevent serious flooding above the dam, but unlike 2003, the water was released at a “manageable” pace, sparing downtown West Point and key structures near the river. It was a delicate equation and getting it right made a remarkable difference.

The flood of May 2003, of course, was a different sort of “monster.” About a foot of rain - far more than had been predicted - fell within a few hours here in Troup County, giving the corps little time to prepare. This time, knowing the water was coming, the corps and city of West Point had time to predict what was going to happen and act accordingly.

So, while the circumstances were different, the response to the 2009 floods showed clearly that important lessons were learned in 2003.

Predictions were better and communication, in particular, was much more effective. A lot of people worked hard, none more visibly than Corps spokesman David Barr, a LaGrange resident, who practically lived in West Point during the week-long crisis. A fully-equipped mobile unit, acquired after the 2003 flood, was put to good use by West Point public safety personnel- and gave them a comfort level of secure and simple communications sorely lacking six years ago.

The corps now estimates at least $350,000 in property damage was avoided because of the dam.

It’s worth remembering that the Chattahoochee-Flint river basin originally was meant to have a levee system and two more dams, besides West Point. That the corps managed to hold off a major flood with just the infrastructure it had is even more impressive.

At times, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has received harsh - and justified - criticism for its management of West Point Lake.

We still have strong concerns on that issue, but we believe in credit where credit is due.

This month, the corps did a solid job of operating the dam during a challenging flood.

They deserve our heartfelt thanks and appreciation.