Posted on 02/12/2017 4:26:47 PM PST by janetjanet998
Edited on 02/12/2017 9:33:58 PM PST by Admin Moderator. [history]
The Oroville Dam is the highest in the nation.
more wet/warm ten wet/cold weather starting today
bad news and bad news...it will increase inflow in the short term and add more snowpack/melt later....they want that snowpack gone ASAP so they can be sure the spillway usage is over so they can begin repairs
Right now the heaviest rain on the radar is headed directly at the Feather River watershed.
The first guy to coat cookware with Teflon was in KC. He originally tried it as a coating to a decorative wrought iron fence he was tired of repainting due to bird debris and other urban polution.
lol...
HAPPENING NOW: Oroville Dam spillway repair involves “replace as much of upper chute as possible by Nov. 1” @CA_DWR @kcranews
Governor Brown issues Executive Order to expedite Oroville Dam Spillway repairs
Staff, ABC10 , KXTV 1:27 PM. PDT April 06, 2017
Governor Jerry Brown has issued an Executive Order to speed up repair plans for the Oroville Dam Spillway.
According to a press release, Brown wants to expedite the repairs of the spillways at Oroville Dam before next winter, including “actions to expedite permits, strengthen coordination between agencies and streamline regulations to continue the state’s rapid emergency response and recovery.”
snip
Replace, not repair. Very interesting.
Gov. Moonbeam: “Replace as much of the upper chute as possible by Nov 1..”
OK.
Moonbeam’s not an engineer, nor has he ever built anything in his life. Maybe he thinks he can simply order it and it will magically happen. Like with high speed trains, for instance.
It’s clear “Replace” is necessary. But even a non-civil engineer like me can tell you, beyond any doubt, that it will be incredibly complex and time consuming.
So... Voila! Site evaluation, planning, model testing, logistics, removal of the portion to be replaced, surface preparation, concrete pouring/curing, on-site testing, etc... ALL done by Nov 1, 2017. Don’t be late.
Given everything involved, I can see a makeshift repair that fast (you do what you gotta do). But it’s hard to see how meaningful replacement can be completed by Nov 1.
A few basic questions for Moonbeam and his DWR coverup artists:
How much of it must be replaced in order for it to be safe to use at over 100,000cfs, for several weeks straight?
Since the entire spillway cannot possibly be replaced that fast, how will the new connect with what’s left of the old?
What about the myriad deferred maintenance issues we now know about on the dam itself?
LASTLY: Will anyone be held accountable for this fiasco? (We already know the answer to that.)
I have not been able to see the press briefing itself, but I saw a snippet. What I saw sounded more like the actual work will essentially be patchwork repairs, with “replace” thrown in to sound better to us ignorant peons.
That’s a lot easier/quicker to do than a real “replace”.
A possible exception to the “patchwork” description might be upgrades to the gates.
Jaun’s latest, Oroville 6 April Update New Drone Footage and Press Briefing https://youtu.be/lcFgyL6sJRw
See Oroville Mercury News Article link. DWR indirectly is saying FERC shouldn't have released the first independent expert's report - however disguised as saying that this was an "internal memo" and "it shouldn't have been released".
This is biting the hand that feeds. FERC is the Federal oversight agency holding DWR to proper standards. It is their (FERC) process & website that automatically makes reports accessible when submitted. SacBee & other news agencies just went to the FERC website and obtained the public FERC files.
This is a perfect demonstration of "non-clarity" -I believe is irresponsible- in explaining subject matter in this spillway saga. A Press Briefing should be clear in all dimensions of information. Now its looking like the "Sheriff" will be part of security in deciding on what information is to be released to the public. This is backwards. DWR & BOC experts should be directing security as required by FERC & DHS. Inferring that the Sheriff is going to be a "decider of information role" is misleading. Below are quotes from the article: (note: Kuttel is DWR lead engineer in the rebuild of the spillway)
"Citing security concerns, Kuttel said design plans could not be made public."
"In response to a question from this newspaper, Croyle said Board of Consultants correspondence being made public would be a decision of the Butte County Sheriff’s Office because of security issues. He said the first memorandum should not have been posted online."
More here:
http://www.orovillemr.com/article/NB/20170406/NEWS/170409874
Thanks for the link. I like your FReep name.
I'm still researching for more clues on the wet spot. One note is that this "shelf" area near the wet spot requires more of a horizontal flow of seepage to stay within the intended "drain zone". It is a fascinating study.
See SacBee News Article Link. Bill Croyle, from DWR admitting DWR sealed documents (via requesting CEII rating). However, we now know DWR did this from Anchor Tendon Inspection findings. (See post 2,955 or link below).
In order for the CEII to be granted, there had to be anchor tendon issues discovered - whether minor or gross. Listing 5 out of 8 gates places 240 anchor tendons into this degraded condition cloud. By including "Anchor Tendon" work in the bids, which likely will be necessary to do, this keeps the whole project under a valid CEII status, (even though any new P-2100 FERC Oroville incident reports are all under this CEII status inheritance).
I actually wonder if some of these "end of life" & likely corroded tendons have "snapped" internally from the 100kcfs runs...
Article clips: (emphasis mine)..btw- "harm and havoc" is very odd to say as this wording is not part of the consise CEII classification definition regarding "attack" see FERC definition below.
"Croyle said that first report “shouldn’t have been made public” and DWR will make sure future reports by the consultants stay sealed."
"Croyle said DWR, in consultation with the sheriff, won’t make bid documents public because they’re considered “critical energy infrastructure information,” and could be used to create “harm and havoc.” DWR cited the same explanation for sealing several investigatory documents with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission last month. FERC licenses the dam and is overseeing the repair effort."
http://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/water-and-drought/article143200489.html#navlink=SecList
Radial Trunnion Gate - DWR's CEII 'Secret' bottling up maneuver - Using Anchor Tendons
FERC Critical Energy/Electric Infrastructure Information (CEII)
" a document can be made confidential if it “gives strategic information” related to “the production, generation, transmission, or distribution of energy” or could be “useful to a person planning an attack on critical infrastructure.”
I cannot say that I appreciate this cloud of secrecy that DWR/FERC are casting over this issue. Not just because it’s an interesting subject to me, but because it’s a critical asset to the many that live downstream of it as well. Applying a broad-brushed cloaking approach is certain to raise anxiety, and to all but prove that they’re hiding something besides “critical” energy assets.
Of course, being in the power industry myself, I see things being “hidden” while they remain in plain sight, and somewhat vulnerable even if they aren’t necessarily critical on a large scale.
The Press, the Butte County Commissioner, and 2 local State Legislators don't trust DWR. DWR used a formality in the Standard Project Compliance Report process to get things bottled up. So now, all information is controlled by DWR. FERC is the licensing agency, but DWR controls the project, design, and now all information release. The FERC recommended experts for the BOC are just that - expert advisors.
In predictive experience, if there is any disagreements on political posturing between DWR against what the BOC experts feel (i.e. the DWR information chokehold & BOC belief of public advising of "risks" should be) there will be internal tension.
This tension potential was demonstrated early in the contrast of openness by BOC in their initial findings report/memo. In fact, BOC's report shot down Bill Croyle's earlier statement to the press on a fundamental engineering expertise assessment (can be fixed in xyz time vs it can't be fixed in xyz time). The BOC info is proving true - and still is true even though what was stated by DWR yesterday. The BOC knows better & is more trusted in their information.
I wouldn't blame FERC. It is DWR that is the issue. Technically, if DWR was properly responsible & concerned about an "attack", they would have set up kinetic arresting checkpoints to access to the spillway bridge. Just one vehicle there & setting off bad stuff can fulfill what a CEII was intended to prevent.
Exactly - the spillway bridge. From both sides, I might add. A rogue boat, if the water level is high enough to get close.
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