URGENT - VIRGINIA - OCCOQUAN RIVER DAM AT OCCOQUAN IN DANGER OF FAILURE

National Weather Service Forecast Office - Sterling, VA ^ | February 23, 2003 | National Weather Service

[opbuzz]

That bridge is the "new" bridge. The original went down, along with the US 1 bridge in Woodbridge, after the hurricane in 1970 or 1971. Occoquan is almost the same town as Woodbridge.

[Chairman_December_19th_Society]

I lived in New Orleans from 1984 to 1986. I could never get used to seeing the ships "way up there" as I would be walking or driving near the levee during spring flood.

[Mamzelle]

What a lovely mill!

[leadpenny]

Thanks.. Until they started construction on the new Fairfax Pumping Station (or whatever it is) at Lorton, I used to walk the mile or so from Occoquan to the dam. Even with 6-12 inches of water coming over the top it is an awesome site. From what I can see, the water level is very high and there is probably 3-4 feet of water going over the top now. FWIW and FYI, Fairfax County owns the reservoir to the PW shoreline.

[LBGA]

Well... your post was so informational that I didn't even notice the typos. :-)

(Note to self: if you can't type worth a darn (which I can't) it helps to be knowledgeable.)

[LBGA]

Wow... these people have had some tough times already!

[e_engineer]

A third danger is that the poster will not proofread and will post words such as puching (pushing) and sownward (downward)

LOL

[LBGA]

Indeed it is lovely! I am struck by how quaint the whole town is. We don't see many with so much character here in GA.

[Mamzelle]

I don't know this area too well...I think it is not far from DC and the Eastern Shore, but I know western Va better. At first I thought this might be the Clinch River area, but I don't know if they have a dam.

You would probably enjoy a trip to Md's Eastern Shore, with Easton and maybe a boat trip to the Islands. The stone house put me in mind of Easton. (The Eastern Shore is the GOP holdout in Md, along with the mountainous West. It's Balmer which has decided most elections there.)

[commish]

I take it from your post that the dam in question is not a flat faced type like the picture I posted at the top of the thread but rather one with a sloped front that is designed for overtopping.

If this is the case, then the danger of collapse is minimized -- but still possible. It depends on how much overtopping the dam is designed for. The biggest danger would be side erosion.

The fact that the damn might hold does not lessen the danger downstream. You say that you see 6-12 inches on a normal day -- well if this dam is now overtopping in the 5-10 foot range, that will equate to a rapid and prolonged water rise downstream. It won't be a catastrophic deluge but more on the lines of a Mississippi River type flood. The residents will have time to get out, but the water level and damage will still be huge.

The danger here is if the dam does give way, that will lead to a wall of water roaring down that valley taking out everything in it's wake. If the town is only a mile or so downstream they will have about 30 seconds -- enough time to here the roar and look to see what it is.

[pttttt]

RESIDENTS THAT LIVE DOWNSTREAM OF THE DAM AT OCCOQUAN SHOULD PAY

VERY CLOSE ATTENTION AND BE PREPARED TO TAKE IMMEDIATE ACTION SHOULD

WATER BEGIN TO RISE OR A FLASH FLOOD WARNING IS ISSUED. THIS IS A POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS SITUATION.

Get out now. Law enforcement, National Guard, etc. should be banging on doors. Maybe they are.

[fella]

Some years back, in this same area of Northren Virginia the Lake Barcroft Dam failed in a manner that caused much cocern but little flooding. Haven't been to Occuquan scince the early 70's it was a really nice place for a picknic even if it is next door to the Lorton prison.

[abnegation]

I'm in Idaho and was here when the Teton Dam failed. This was an earthen dam and failed mainly because it over filled and filled too fast. The failure of Teton Dam, on June 5, 1976, resulted in the loss of 11 lives and millions of dollars in property damage.

Pics of the dam breaking:
http://www.pn.usbr.gov/dams/Teton.shtml

[prisoner6]

My dad just told me about the dam that could break, here i am looking at ebay, then he comes in telling me about it and i started getting confused. Thank god for this site.

- prisoner6sson

[leadpenny]

Yes. The top of the dam is rounded and when the water is coming over it it just glides down the sloped face. I don't know the terms. As for the side erosion, I see the danger. On the Fairfax side of the dam they have these open spillways that sort of direct that flow back to the center and away from the side bank. On the Prince William side, there are controllable spillways and the overflow doesn't pose an erosion danger to that end of the dam.

[NonValueAdded]

Another early warning system that works well for me over / down here in hurricane land is The Emergency Email & Wireless Network (http://www.emergencyemail.org/). You can tailor alerts to your locale and delivery preferences. I've set up a rule in my email reader (outlook) to play a sound for incoming traffic from that site.

[leadpenny]

Just stuck my head out the door and there are a couple of choppers in the vicinity of Occoquan. Could be News or Fairfax police. They are just orbiting. I'm watching Face the Nation on Local Channel 9 and they would break in if anything is going on. Maybe not.

[Bill Davis FR]

the lorton prison is no longer in existence...

[Chairman_December_19th_Society]

That is a very good site, and I looked at it. It was, however, too restrictive for what I wanted. I also wanted NWS dispatches for research/review on such things as hurricanes, winter storms, and the like. The EM E-mail Net is excellent if you are looking at one or two counties - but I'm interested in material for a region (VA/MD/DC/NJ/PA/TN/KY/NC to be exact). Local warning info, though, spills off the printer.

But, as I said, if you only want data for a county or two or three, I do recommend that site as well.

[Chairman_December_19th_Society]

the lorton prison is no longer in existence...

The "prison" is still there - a derelict crumpling hulk. It's just not used right now as the facility was closed by the DC Prison System. [I have to drive by it to visit M-I-L.]

It's prime real estate land - hopefully something nice will be put there.