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Oroville Dam: Feds and state officials ignored warnings 12 years ago
The Mercury News ^ | February 12, 2017 | Paul Rogers

Posted on 02/13/2017 5:48:06 AM PST by Sons of Union Vets

More than a decade ago, federal and state officials and some of California’s largest water agencies rejected concerns that the massive earthen spillway at Oroville Dam — at risk of collapse Sunday night and prompting the evacuation of 185,000 people — could erode during heavy winter rains and cause a catastrophe.

Three environmental groups — the Friends of the River, the Sierra Club and the South Yuba Citizens League — filed a motion with the federal government on Oct. 17, 2005, as part of Oroville Dam’s relicensing process, urging federal officials to require that the dam’s emergency spillway be armored with concrete, rather than remain as an earthen hillside.

(Excerpt) Read more at mercurynews.com ...


TOPICS: Miscellaneous; Society; Weather
KEYWORDS: california; infrastructure; oroville; orovilledam
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To: maggief
From March 2016...

Oroville Dam spillway gates open for first time in years

Wonder about draw down, if any, since then...

61 posted on 02/13/2017 8:10:39 AM PST by mewzilla (I'll vote for the first guy who promises to mail in his SOTU addresses.)
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To: SE Mom

Problem is they don’t know what they don’t know.


62 posted on 02/13/2017 8:11:29 AM PST by mewzilla (I'll vote for the first guy who promises to mail in his SOTU addresses.)
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To: lacrew
At some points in time, over the years, when the reservoir was high enough, the spillway could have been tested at its rated flow at least for a few minutes.

When the Hoover Dam was finished the reservoir was filled to test the bypass pipes/tunnels. That left a lighter colored rock ring around the reservoir even decades later.

I don't know if the controlled spillway at Oro was ever proof tested.

63 posted on 02/13/2017 8:16:27 AM PST by Paladin2 (No spellcheck. It's too much work to undo the auto wrong word substitution on mobile devices.)
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To: DoodleDawg

California got $6.4 billion in Obama’s 2009 stimulus bill for water/conservation projects. Where did the money go?


64 posted on 02/13/2017 8:21:20 AM PST by Cementjungle
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To: mewzilla

https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=EDs0AQAAMAAJ

Yuba River Investigation Study EIS from 1998. Pretty interesting. And it’s free.


65 posted on 02/13/2017 8:23:44 AM PST by mewzilla (I'll vote for the first guy who promises to mail in his SOTU addresses.)
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To: mewzilla; lacrew
Thanks for the link.

(03/24/16) "Beginning at 10 a.m., the rate of the water being released increased throughout the day, reaching 6,000 cubic feet per second by 5 p.m., "

6k cfs = 2.4% of rated capacity.

66 posted on 02/13/2017 8:26:24 AM PST by Paladin2 (No spellcheck. It's too much work to undo the auto wrong word substitution on mobile devices.)
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To: Cementjungle
"Where did the money go?"

Over the Dam?

67 posted on 02/13/2017 8:27:43 AM PST by Paladin2 (No spellcheck. It's too much work to undo the auto wrong word substitution on mobile devices.)
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To: Paladin2

You’re welcome! Per that link, if I understood correctly, the Army Corps had/has to approve each draw down. If true, now I’m wondering about the Army Corps’ involvement in this mess.


68 posted on 02/13/2017 8:29:33 AM PST by mewzilla (I'll vote for the first guy who promises to mail in his SOTU addresses.)
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To: mewzilla

Also wondering about the observed drop in water level. Great news, but how do they know the dam hasn’t sprung a leak elsewhere? Probably an idiot question, but I just thought I’d ask anyone who’d care to reply.


69 posted on 02/13/2017 8:31:51 AM PST by mewzilla (I'll vote for the first guy who promises to mail in his SOTU addresses.)
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To: mewzilla
"Table IV-2. Project Design Flows of the Lower Feather River

Oroville to Honcut 210,000

Honcut to Yuba River 210,000

Yuba River to Bear River 300,000

Bear River to Sutter 320,000

Bypass Yuba River 120k * 180,000 cfs when Feather River flows are low. "

******************

Looks like 100k cfs should not be a big problem. Mud, silt and debris on the other hand...

70 posted on 02/13/2017 8:35:25 AM PST by Paladin2 (No spellcheck. It's too much work to undo the auto wrong word substitution on mobile devices.)
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To: Sons of Union Vets

Listened to their House Rep Doug LaMalfa (VERY conservative, good guy... actually went to college with his sister!). Made some good sense about the Army Corps of Engineers “owning” 20% (from a legal standpoint) of the design and build of the damworks from the 50’s & 60’s so Federal money is legally involved in the rebuild. (he also has ranch/famrland in the flood-danger area).

What I can’t wait for is Governor Moonbeam on his knees pleading for Federal funds after continually giving Trump the finger.

District 1 in NorCal is generally conservative, have a good Rep (though I think only his 2nd term). If the emergency spillway doesn’t erode fully (they have another storm on the way) they’ll rebuild ok. SoCal should pay for it, as they’ve benefited most from NorCal’s water for many, many decades.


71 posted on 02/13/2017 8:38:46 AM PST by SparkyBass
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To: Sons of Union Vets

The Obama administration ignored a clear risk to human life and property for eight years.

The State of California ignored a clear risk to human life and property for twelve years.

What do these organizations have in common?


72 posted on 02/13/2017 8:45:03 AM PST by AZLiberty (A is now A once again.)
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To: SE Mom
“Believe me, in the last several days there have been a lot of eyes on it,” said Bill Croyle, acting director of the California Department of Water Resources. “Oroville Dam is not in any way a part of the damage that occurred.”

This is total government feel good bs. They have no clue until they can have the water coming over the parking lot, auxiliary spillway and spillway stop and dry out to see if they have any wet spots or water flows. This is all to close to the dam and deals with its integrity.

The latest picture I saw had a water cutting a path from the auxiliary spillway over the spillway higher up the dam. more and more danger spots are forming.

73 posted on 02/13/2017 8:47:09 AM PST by Lady Heron
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To: mewzilla

I’m sure release decisions have been made as byzantine as possible so that later it is impossible to fix the blame.


74 posted on 02/13/2017 8:47:29 AM PST by Paladin2 (No spellcheck. It's too much work to undo the auto wrong word substitution on mobile devices.)
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To: Paladin2

Good point. They could have tested the spillway. I tried to look back and find flow data for the Feather River, that would give an indication of what their highest release has ever been...but could find nothing.

I did find a link to the last 7 days release from the lake.

http://cdec.water.ca.gov/cgi-progs/queryRES?ORO


75 posted on 02/13/2017 9:26:03 AM PST by lacrew
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To: Lady Heron

That’s what I figured, these spokesmen are smooth talkers.

Is the new path you’re seeing the one to upper left? Or newer?


76 posted on 02/13/2017 9:50:51 AM PST by SE Mom (Screaming Eagle mom)
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To: lacrew
The USGS has quite a number of real-time streamflow instrumentation across the country, but not much on the Feather River. (https://waterdata.usgs.gov/usa/nwis)

In the 800+ page report linked above there are some plots of flows during some past floods.

Somewhere in the Calif Water gov't site was where I found a list of daily flows from the dam.

77 posted on 02/13/2017 9:54:15 AM PST by Paladin2 (No spellcheck. It's too much work to undo the auto wrong word substitution on mobile devices.)
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To: lacrew

http://cdec.water.ca.gov/jspplot/jspPlotServlet.jsp?sensor_no=1980&end=02/13/2017+09:55&geom=small&interval=120&cookies=


78 posted on 02/13/2017 9:55:59 AM PST by Paladin2 (No spellcheck. It's too much work to undo the auto wrong word substitution on mobile devices.)
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To: mewzilla

From what I’ve been reading from some smart freepers this morning- they don’t know and can’t know until they lower the water level and it dries up a bit.


79 posted on 02/13/2017 9:57:27 AM PST by SE Mom (Screaming Eagle mom)
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To: Sons of Union Vets

Emergency spillway used once in 50 years. It would have been a waste of money to concrete it.

What wouldn’t have been a waste would have been to properly maintain the main spillway.


80 posted on 02/13/2017 10:03:06 AM PST by glorgau
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