In the Flood of 1994 rivers and lakes across Georgia got bigger, breaking dams and levees, including the 30-foot-tall, mile-long levee running from the Otis Redding Bridge to the Industrial Park past Central City Park in Macon, GA. All the lower portion of East Macon was flooded. Below the city the Southern railway tracks were covered in water.  About 500,000 people in seven counties including Bibb, Lamar, Butts and Sumter counties had shortages of drinking water, some for as long as a week. Worries included industries not being able to run for months because freight rail lines were shut down by washed-out bridges and hazardous chemical sites flooded the area and had the potential to cause significant environmental problems.