There are insufficient resources onsite to lay in adequate protection for the emergency spillway. Such resources could be mustered over 30 days...but not just 3.
When the water comes over the top again, and it will, they will lose the emergency spillway letting loose 30 ft of water, 1700 ft across. The headwaters of the lake are two major forks over a dozen miles back.
That’s enough water to make you wonder if the entire structure is at risk of erosion.
My feverishly inventive mind has concocted half a dozen or so sure-fire schemes for securing the auxiliary spillway runoff, but even if the principles of any of these are sound, they would take more time than is available.
Back into reality, I have been frustrated by the mindless news coverage, which seems to sense a lack of excitement in covering the spillway repair efforts, since this no longer involves dramatic hydraulic video. I couldn’t be more disgusted.
“That’s enough water to make you wonder if the entire structure is at risk of erosion.”
Over 27B gallons at 40 ft depth by 15,500acres; 620k acre-feet.
So, if a breach spills 500kcfs that’d take up to 15 HOURS at that run rate before the lake level drops low enough for it to start to throttle back, and that makes NO allowance for upstream influx during those 15 hours.
You send 500kcfs down the Feather River every second for 15 hours and there’ll be a WHOLE lotta new swampland in California.