http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-oroville-spillway-failure-20170216-story.html
Government severely misjudged strength of Oroville emergency spillway, sparking a crisis
2/19/17
Bill Croyle stood in front of an aerial photo of Lake Oroville and swept his hand across the top of the emergency spillway that was helping drain water out of the brimming reservoir.
Solid rock. All this is rock, Croyle, acting director of the Department of Water Resources, said with an air of confidence at the Feb. 11 briefing.
(snip)
Soft bedrock is not the only problem, he added. The concrete weir at the top of the emergency spillway was just plopped on top of that ridge. Its a design area that will probably get a lot of scrutiny and had to be a major concern as [the spillway] was eroding up the hill.
Vogel confirmed that the weir, which she said ranges in height from 25 feet to 45 feet, was not anchored.
As to why the state never moved transmission lines that cross both spillways and connect the dam powerhouse to the electrical grid, Vogel said, The main spillway performed well for the past 50 years, so there was no perceived need to relocate.
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The emergency spill way is not anchored?
Astounding!