[EarthResearcher333]

>>Mind Boggling (Engineering Ratings et al): How Did Such A Magnificent Dam Get to This Point?<<

FROM an Engineering Ratings Perspective, the Oroville dam is a Mind Boggling Disaster.

This Dam was designed to handle the absolute Maximum Nature could throw at it - even to events to 10,000 years in hydrological estimations (see below specs in past flood flows and the "worst case scenarios" - these are the extra safety margin factor(s)).

How Did this Dam get to this point?

The Massive Engineering Ratings/Specs are so far off in what physically transpired, this should drive hard questions that should be answered - including accountability.

What is Not Re-assuring is Workshop's put on by The California Division of Safety of Dams where "Management has instructed the engineers" to discontinue using the wording "safe" in inspection reports. (see below). Was there a culture regarding "Dam Inspections" that contributed to this situation? (see below).

The Public deserves Hard Answers, including answers on what else may have been missed. The Colossal Failure of the Actual Performance means that the Dam is facing uncertain odds if the Estimated Floods (see specs) occur before massive reconstruction... what will happen?

From CA Division of Safety of Dams: Management directing Engineers to change wording in inspection reports. Noted was "for legal protection to limit liability".

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Mind Boggling Engineering (Ratings) Disaster: How did it come to this?

[meyer]

I don’t think that the emergency spillway was really ever meant for anything but an absolute emergency. The erosion, at least downhill from the spillway, was expected.

One thing that this short flow of water did do is provide some pertinent information as to what needed to be reinforced to allow emergency operations in the future. All that hardening will allow it to be used again, at least for a while.

As for the main spillway, I think this might be an inspection/maintenance issue more than a design issue. Or maybe both. It’s apparent that the upper half to 5/8 of the spillway is pretty solid, and appears to be built on solid bedrock. Ditto for the bottom section, which while it doesn’t serve much purpose at this time, does seem to be holding up. It’s that part where it broke - where the hole first appeared - that is questionable.

Seems to me that that section was not built on solid bedrock, and was perhaps not sufficiently built up and hardened to serve the support function. Drainage issues were brought up on another web site, that a couple of the sidewall drain pipes in the vicinity of the original break were not draining water prior to the failure. This would indicate that the area was being undermined by water.

I’m partly speculating here, and partly repeating what I’ve read from others, but it seems that that part of the main spillway was inadequate.

[Jim W N]

hard questions that should be answered - including accountability

Government is private enterprise after you take away reason and accountability.

[Jim W N]

Makes sense. That’s the stuff you learn in law school. How to weasel out of stuff.

See, government is never concerned about things like “safety” to humans, only “satisfactory” to whatever the government says is satisfactory. IOW, “satisfactory” is the same as “good enough for government work.”

The key ingredients to a government project is ensuring political advantage and the size of the bureaucracy involved increases so the bureaucratic heads get a bigger paycheck.

Generally, all government sees is government.

[Repeal The 17th]

“Spillway Design Flood Pool = 917 feet”
“Emergency Spillway Crest Elevation = 901 feet”
I can’t even imagine 16 feet of water coming over...
It was near failure with something like 1 foot coming over...

[KC Burke]

All this religious mantra of Global Warming / climate Change / Forever Drought made it where the repairs that were reoccurring became to be viewed as almost unneeded as there was absolute scientific agreement that there would never be a full lake again - that is the mental climate that allowed this.

The closing in the morning for a damage assessment still had to contain drivel about fisheries flow etc etc.

They are poisoned by their culture.

[LucyT]

>>Mind Boggling (Engineering Ratings et al): How Did Such A Magnificent Dam Get to This Point?<<

FROM an Engineering Ratings Perspective, the Oroville dam is a Mind Boggling Disaster.

Check out # 1,918 ...

Thanks, EarthResearcher333.

[GOPJ]

“Some of the listed problems are common to concrete
dams and for the concrete structures associated with embankment dams. Problems can occur in
concrete quality, placement and curing. “

http://www.water.ca.gov/damsafety/docs/rjb-paper.pdf

I’m going with ‘concrete quality’...