Emergency: California’s Oroville Dam Spillway Near Failure, Evacuations Ordered

Breitbart ^ | Feb 12, 2017 | Joel B. Pollak1

[janetjanet998]

The California Department of Water Resources issued a sudden evacuation order shortly before 5 p.m. Sunday for residents near the Oroville Dam in northern California, warning that the dam’s emergency spillway would fail in the next 60 minutes.

The Oroville Dam is the highest in the nation.

[maggief]

I wouldn’t bank on that.

[meyer]

The ‘emergency spillway” is uncontrollable.

The best I can tell, it's basically a wall that allows the lake to spill over if the level gets too high. Which it has.

The problem that they're mentioning on the news is that the water spilling over the emergency spillway is eroding land directly under the concrete creating a situation where the land under the concrete could wash away and allow the lake to flow through.

[DoughtyOne]

Why drop all them, when you could get the same effect with one Hillary Clinton?

[snarkpup]

The last two data points have the lake level dropping at 3 inches/hour.

[maggief]

BS.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

But more importantly, do they have a bag of rocks to drop on Sean Penn? ;)

[SE Mom]

Ok. So we have two separate issues, correct?

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Those peeps are going to have some Soggy Sammiches come daylight.

[meyer]

But more importantly, do they have a bag of rocks to drop on Sean Penn? ;)

They could drop Sean Penn on himself.

[DoughtyOne]

It’s 2” over the overflow area of the damn, not the emergency spillway. The emergency spillway is still flowing to reduce pressure on the damn.

[blueplum]

6 inches because they opened the damaged spillway wide up in a Hail Mary move to relieve pressure on the ‘emergency’ spillway. It’s a touch and go game on which one’s erosion will cause more damage.

[KC Burke]

If it causes damage down to Maryville, the next order of business is the poor Levees on the Sacramento River which this flows into.

Maryville to Sac is rich farmland and small cities. IF the levees fail for the Sacramento River (that is a big if but they are crappy levees) then everyone needs to understand that the Sacramento Airport and all the suburban land on the north side of Sacramento is in a flood plane.

[Ray76]

Seems like a poor design.

[P8riot]

Excellent. As big as that lake is, that’s a helluva lot of water. Hope they can continue to control it.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

You get me! You really, REALLY get me! :)

[maggief]

The controlled “spillway” is compromised.
The “emergency spillway”, (renamed ‘auxiliary spillway’ just yesterday) spill off is uncontrolled.

[tomkat]

Mostly correct.

Main danger is the earth/stone fill under the concrete section of the emergency spillway being eroded away, causing failure of part of the concrete section above, most likely via a V notch breach.

[meyer]

Seems like a poor design.

Inadequate. This is their "Fukushima" event, perhaps. A situation beyond the expected design.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

My Uncle was stationed at Marysville in the 70’s with the Air Force. He was a pilot. Familiar with the area. I would hate to see it damaged due to failing infrastructure. :(

[maggief]

I think we have unknown issues, with challenges yet to come.