Replies

Mid-slope Main Dam Erosion channels from unaddressed "Weepage" inside of dam - to eliminate an unknown risk, the water level would be lowered to 660ft or below.

Apparently, they've know about this for at least three years and apparently have done nothing about it. During the prolonged drought one would think the water level could easily have been taken down to 660ft to allow corrective action.

This is starting to look like a great example of government's inherent disinterest in human life by implementing a huge, potentially dangerous project and following up with little-to-no accountability and responsibility to ensure the potential danger does not become an imminent threat which this whole Oroville Dam monstrosity is starting to look like.

It is interesting that common law assigns "strict liability" to certain "abnormally dangerous" undertakings. Damming up water is one such "abnormally dangerous" undertaking. "Strict liability" means that negligence is not required for liability if damage occurs from the undertaking. One is liable simply by taking on such an abnormally dangerous activity regardless of how careful he is.

But this is government, so who is strictly liable? The government? If so, how does government pay for the damages? With their money? But government doesn't have any money. It only has OUR money. So government pays for damages with the money of those it damaged. So effectively, government isn't liable for anything.

One way of looking at this government conundrum is that because building the dam was an activity by a representative government, it means that at least theoretically that the dam was actually authorized by the collective people who wittingly or unwittingly have taken on that liability themselves.

Anyway, in this case, it looks like the people need to kick some butt to get corrective action to move this thing away from what looks like an imminent threat on a massive scale.