Divers find underwater IED at critical Alabama dam

An FBI bomb squad and law enforcement teams from the Mobile, Ala., area on Wednesday removed and safely detonated an improvised explosive device found at the Converse Reservoir dam. The 3,600-acre reservoir supplies drinking water for the Mobile area. Both the reservoir and the dam are federally designated as critical infrastructure, according to the Mobile Area Water and Sewer System.

Divers located the device, a grenade-type IED, underwater during routine maintenance. The Mobile water authority quickly alerted the local sheriff’s office, which coordinated the law enforcement response. The IED was removed without damage to the dam, and drinking water was not affected, the Mobile Area Water and Sewer System wrote in a news release.

The water authority reported the incident to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, it said. It would work to increase security at the dam, it said. Officials did not say how long the IED had been in place. As of Thursday, authorities had not released information on potential suspects.