Posted on 02/11/2017 10:39:19 AM PST by nickcarraway
“structurally the dam is in good condition. it is the spill way which is located separate from the dam that is toast.”
Well yes, but what happens if the spillway damage cuts back and starts eroding the integrity of the dam?
Don’t know if that can happen; but unexpected things can happen.
There are not supposed to be trees on emergency spillways. Not even bushes. They are supposed to be cut out each year. If not done, it can cause failure of the dam when water flows over it. Uprooting trees is not good on the side of a dam. It weakens them and uncovers a weak spot for the water to continue washing away. Sounds like someone was not doing the maintenance they should have done.
How can the state of California afford to maintain its dams when it has illegal aliens to support?
I did feel a little guilty...as I snickered just before hitting the post button.
They decided to allow the majority of the water to dump over the emergency spillway, once they determined the rogue flow from the damaged service spillway was destined to take down the electrical towers / lines for the generators.
the spillway is not connected to the dam or on it. it is located on a hillside away from the dam itself. any erosion will not effect the integrity of the dam.
I need to call the EPA to get their fine calculators out there.
IOWs, the emergency spillway is doing exactly what it was designed to do.
The regular spill way is 750 feet of concrete where at the bottom there are barriers to shoot the water into the air to prevent erosion.
The emergency spill way just over flows into dirt and finds its own way to the river (although they did attempt to clear trees and brush).
My question is, if the emergency spillway can dump the overflow into a unimproved dirt, why bother with the regular concrete spillway?
Oh, perhaps they never expected to use the emergency spillway and so no thought was given if it was in fact had to be used.
I did see they attempted to put large rocks and cement at the bottom of the emergency spillway because I presume fear of erosion. If that fear is justified, wouldn’t it had made more sense to build it into the dam at the time of construction? It appears too little too late.
So what happens when the amount of water continues over the emergency spillway and begins to erode under the dam?
The rain has stopped. For a day or so, however there is another storm on its way. Also, there has been record snow fall in the mountains, when it begins to melt there will be more water into the lake.
This problem is not going away even if there was not another drop of rain.
There is something going on there.
There have been no aerial views of the dam since the emergency spillway opened.
They have ‘closed the airspace’ over the dam. You are not allowed to fly within 4 miles.
http://tfr.faa.gov/save_pages/...
I do not expect California to tell me the truth...but I do expect them to cover their asses.
The dam doesn’t have to fail, the water can find its way out other places.
you related it to the failure of the dam itself. I’m on the ground here near the dam. mischaracterization of the problem doesn’t do anyone any good.
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