LOUISVILLE, Ky. — There were concerns Sunday that 10 dam gates in Mercer County were accidentally opened and sent water down the Kentucky river after a Dix Dam water release was sent out. Spectrum News 1 later learned from the dam operators that the release was planned.

As of Monday, the Kentucky River was still spilling into the city of Carrollton.

“I guess we’re getting a forced spring cleaning would be the way to put it,” said Paul Yocum of Paul’s Tire.

Paul’s Tire is right next to the Ohio and the Kentucky river. Yocum received a warning Sunday gates at the Dix Dam had accidentally been opened.

“The low-lying areas had to mandatory evacuate because it was six foot of water coming,” Yocum said.

That warning message came from the Carrollton Mayor Robb Adams, who said he got that information from Kentucky Emergency Management.

“I released that video. It was the exact information and the exact sense of urgency that I released that was passed along to us,” Adams said.

Yocum and nearly 100 volunteers in the area helped the tire store pack up the entire shop into a few trucks.

“Puts tears in your eyes, it just makes you want to cry,” Yocum said.

Not long after LG&E and KU, who operate the dam, put out a statement which said opening the gates at Dix Dam was planned to relieve pressure from Herrington Lake.

A spokesperson for the utility company said that opening dam gates was accounted for in flood predictions.

“We don’t really know what the messaging was that led to that, where that came from. All we know is that under our normal dam safety procedures, those notifications had gone out on Friday,” Drew Gardner, LG&E and KU spokesperson said.

Mayor Adams said the release did impact water levels in Carrollton, but not to the extent Kentucky Emergency Management originally warned.

“So, at the end of the day, whether it was accidental or not, planned or not, urgent or not, we appreciated the heads up, and we prepared for that,” Mayor Adams said.

Gov. Andy Beshear, D-Ky., said he is working to sort out the miscommunication.

“Of the things that we’re going to need to do through emergency management here is sit down and have a conversation, with KU to make sure that there is direct communication about how many of those gates are being opened and about what the potential impact can be,” Beshear said.

The Kentucky river is predicted to rise two more feet before cresting in Carrollton around Tuesday, April 8.

“Water is nowhere close to us. The guy in Frankfort probably needs to be reprimanded real hard because he didn’t know what he was talking about,” Yocum said.

Yocum is hoping to get his shop back in working order soon.  

Carroll County Emergency Management said there have been no reports of injuries because of flooding.