Posted on 02/12/2017 6:49:25 PM PST by artichokegrower
Won’t work, its 300 foot long. You would have to literally build a bridge and then even plate steel wont hold up against the outflow.
They are about to abandon ship on this, they cannot use the emergency again, they are literally gouging out the mountain where the main spillway has collapsed which has piled up so much debris in the river it has flooded the main outlets at the power station. They cannot use them at all.
They desperately need to use the main outflow again. I hope they can shut down the spillway long enough to clear the debris in the river, or maybe use explosives.
And whats not being said is why the main spillway collapsed, two theories floating around is one, sabotage on the side gate which allowed water to get under the spillway, second is and underground hydraulic leak that lifted the spillway and buckled it.
A lot a drone video has been shot and subsequently erased from Youtube.
Last time they had eyes on the hole it was 300 feet long and 45 feet deep, it’s probably much worse now. Nothing short of a complete back fill and a months set time for a new slab of concrete.
National Guard activated
http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/02/12/the-latest-officials-order-evacuation-near-california-dam/
OROVILLE, Calif. (AP) — The Latest on problems with an emergency spillway at the nation’s tallest dam (all times local):
11:50 p.m.
A California National Guard official says they will provide eight helicopters to assist with emergency spillway reconstruction at the nation’s tallest dam located about 150 miles northeast of San Francisco.
Adjunct General David S. Baldwin said at a news conference late Sunday that the helicopters will also be available for search and rescue Monday near the Oroville Dam.
He added that the California National Guard put out a notification to all 23,000 soldiers and airmen to be ready to deploy if needed.
Baldwin says the last time an alert like Sunday’s was issued for the entire California National Guard was the 1992 riots.
Evacuations for at least 188,000 people were ordered after officials warned the emergency spillway was in danger of failing and unleashing uncontrolled flood waters on towns b
Check out this video
How do they get the concrete and rock to the hole? There is no access to it.
The plan now is to lower lake 50 feet in preparation for the next set of storms later this week,but at current release rates its about 4 inches per hour at about 100,000cfs, they can double that for an undamaged spillway but its getting destroyed foot by foot even at a third of the current rate or 30,000 cfs.
So this is the bottom line, the spillway is disintegrating,the longer they use it the more its eating away the mountain. If they can shore up the emergency spillway then they could slow down the main, either way its literally washing the mountain away. They keep saying the main structure is safe and sound, yeah right....
They plan on airlifting bags of riprap. I wonder if they could launch some barges across the lake where they have main road access and a marina loaded with materials and a trackhoe, or to send a laden barge with material and sink it against the emergency spillway while the water is high, the only access road is completely washed out but could be filled in within days.
They need the dam lowered a lot to give them several weeks of emergency repair time, and its just not coming.
Btw, i manage a concrete batch plant and have a concrete boom pump not too far in Auburn just east of Sacramento so i have a lot of interest in all of this, possibly i might be physically involved.
So true. Here in DC we have a major metrorail refit underway. Maintenance had been deferred for decades. Every time the budget came up, most available dollars went to increase pay and benefits. Every time the union contracts came up, management rolled over for raises. Maintenance was deferred. The managers warned about it, the consultants warned about it, system reliability headed south, capacity expansion was delayed, etc. But the unions kept robbing the future. It took a big scary fire (not good when you have hundreds of people trapped in a tunnel) to change the political calculus. So now we're paying a premium to make up for years of neglect. I'm sure most folks here could provide their own local stories. This is how the public sector manages.
Dams don’t vote, but sometimes they do have their say in how things happen
From the pictures I’ve seen of the spillway you’d need a 200’ boom. And, who’s crazy enough to climb down there to maneuver the boom where the tear is?
Helos, just like Chernobyl. Thanks to Mr. Sikorsky.
I am pretty well over it. Just repaired the damage from the last storm and more is on the way. The water content of the snow pack above 7,500 feet is epic.
Are there low power lines above the spillways? If so, that would make copter access iffy.
Holy cow. He’s up on the spillway, isn’t he?
This is unbelievable. It’s just like the federal government. So many entrenched power structures, no accountability, and the beat goes on.
That next storm hits us in Northern NV on Thursday.
People who live about 20 miles South of Carson City heard many helos flying low last night. Speculation was they were called in to help. Read one solution was to have the helos place huge boulders in the large holes in the spillway.
I believe that's what is being tried. Helicopters, flying low, were heard last night near Carson City. Seems they were called in to help lower large boulders in the crevace in the spillway.
This brigs back memories bout a guy named NAGIN in Nawlins....Money for the levee went to cable TV ??
Then, — IT’S BUSH’S FAULT !!
Now Kalifornicate yells to DC -— HELP !!
My daughter and SIL live in Natomas. This doesn’t look good for them staying dry.....
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