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Looks like none of Obama's stimulus money didn't get spent here over the past 8 years.
Oroville Dam: Thousands evacuate as authorities warn of dam spillway failure
- Thread starter Spike
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That went to Iran and other Muslim countries.
And Planned Parenthood.
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CA Dams Crumble While Politicians Fiddle
While Gov. Jerry Brown and legislative Democrats have prioritized illegal aliens, refugee, inmate sex change operations, building houses for the homeless, transgender bathrooms, climate change awareness, and hiring Eric Holder to undermine the Trump administration, the Oroville Dam was crumbling. And they knew it.
The San Jose Mercury News reported the California Department of Water Resources and 27 water agencies ignored serious warnings 12 years ago because they did not want to incur the extra costs. So they said the repairs were unnecessary.
http://canadafreepress.com/article/ca-dams-crumble-while-politicians-fiddle-in-nonsense
First of all the dam is not failing. An emergency spillway designed in the 60's, with no concrete apron to lead any potential floodwater away from the spillway, suffered severe erosion during last weekend's release over the spillway. So they are lowering the level of the lake to take pressure off the emergency spillway and now are dumping tons of rock, new concrete and sand into the eroded areas of the land below the emergency spillway. So there was a study done that suggested a concrete apron would help reduce any potential erosion in the event the emergency spillway was ever needed. That never got done and now the spillway was used and it suffered.
Hopefully, this work they are doing now can be helpful with the rain expected starting Thursday and the thought is that if they lower the lake enough it may not reach the level of the emergency spillway again.
The damaged main spillway is, to me, the more serious situation that could cost hundreds of millions to fix or rebuild this summer.
By the way, I live about 50 miles downstream and as of now we are in the clear.
Hopefully, this work they are doing now can be helpful with the rain expected starting Thursday and the thought is that if they lower the lake enough it may not reach the level of the emergency spillway again.
The damaged main spillway is, to me, the more serious situation that could cost hundreds of millions to fix or rebuild this summer.
By the way, I live about 50 miles downstream and as of now we are in the clear.
Crews using helicopters yesterday to move large bags of rocks into Oroville emergency dam spillway.
It wouldn't been a lot easier to fix when the lake was empty in 2013
That's part of the problem. The emergency spillway was never used until last weekend so they didn't know how it would act when it was actually used. So in 2013 they didn't know it was going to cause the severe erosion. I know engineers that are on this job as we speak.
Crews using helicopters yesterday to move large bags of rocks into Oroville emergency dam spillway.
It wouldn't been a lot easier to fix when the lake was empty in 2013
It would been a lot easier Spike but then people in L.A. wouldn't be able to fill their swimming pools.
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I understand exactly what your saying considering I'm a civil engineer in the heavy/highway construction business, but where is the so-called "hole"?
I'm not a civil engineer, but I could have told you using the emergency spillway would cause severe erosion
There is a hole in the main spillway.....
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For christ's sake they built that road right below the spillway (you can see it on the picture above).
I'm pretty sure all these "expert climate scientists" ignored the 100-year storm event data and just assumed the spillway would never be used. That's why you see them pass over the spillway functional improvements while also spending money on road improvements below the spillway like it doesn't exist as part of the safety features of the dam.
I would think the bigger concern isn't that the spillway finally needed to be used (despite all the damage it caused) but also if the erosion on the low side of the dam and/or this "hole" is causing structural damage underneath the dam. Any water flowing through the soil at this point (and not over the spillway) is major cause of concern.
There are a few of them and they are in the area directly below the emergency spillway and at the far west end of the spillway near the boat launch parking area. That is where they have been placing the large "bags" of rock and sand. They can get some heavy dump trucks close to the spillway where the road didn't wash out and that's where the trucks are dumping rock and others are pumping concrete to try and stabilize their work. If you look closely at the pictures of the emergency spillway, there are some large crevices that have cut down to the bedrock and they were starting to erode towards the spillway and not downhill away from the spillway.
That picture was taken last Tuesday when this all started. That "hole" is now a gigantic torn apart spillway with complete failure of the lower part of the structure.
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So the good folks in Cali in charge of this dam and its maintenance ignored both repair recommendations and the clear and present danger of climate warming/change/disruption. Awesome.
Sounds kinda like New Orleans.
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I am starting to understand now. I saw this picture:
This shows the normal, everyday spillway that they have been using pretty much non-stop as the water has risen high in the reservoir. You can see the hole in the concrete and the fact, since they've run the spillway full blast, there is erosion on each side the concrete "slide" that leads down to the rocks/river below. At this point, once the water recedes, this will likely have to be completely replaced, patched and/or repaired and restoration with stone along each side of the concrete. I'm not sure this functional changes the dam's structure, although any erosion around and under the concrete "slide" is not good. Theoretically, if the dam (which is mostly made of earth) becomes weak in this one area of the concrete slide, could "burst" at this point. That would be catastrophic failure like Johnstown Dam. But I suspect that is unlikely.
What is shown above in one of Spikes Pictures (the aerial one) is of the EMERGENCY spillway. That is the last line of defense in the dam and it obviously spilled over that recently due to all the erosion and road destruction. I don't know where that water eventually entered the river, but it likely caused mudslides, etc.
That is a whole separate mess to clean up and repair.
I think the concern is they can't stop and inspect anything right now. The dam is so full, they either let the normal concrete slide spillway/weir run full-out to keep up with water entering the reservoir, or they let the dam breach the long emergency spillway and create more mudslides and erosion down to the river (which will have to be restored as well). They can't tell if what they are seeing is the whole story nor if there are any other areas THROUGH the dam that may be failing and allowing even a trickle of water through that could expand and cause a major breach.
It's a tricky situation because both spillways look to have never been used like this in real life and the design/age or both have led to them underperforming and failing (to some extent). They just don't know how bad it could be.
This shows the normal, everyday spillway that they have been using pretty much non-stop as the water has risen high in the reservoir. You can see the hole in the concrete and the fact, since they've run the spillway full blast, there is erosion on each side the concrete "slide" that leads down to the rocks/river below. At this point, once the water recedes, this will likely have to be completely replaced, patched and/or repaired and restoration with stone along each side of the concrete. I'm not sure this functional changes the dam's structure, although any erosion around and under the concrete "slide" is not good. Theoretically, if the dam (which is mostly made of earth) becomes weak in this one area of the concrete slide, could "burst" at this point. That would be catastrophic failure like Johnstown Dam. But I suspect that is unlikely.
What is shown above in one of Spikes Pictures (the aerial one) is of the EMERGENCY spillway. That is the last line of defense in the dam and it obviously spilled over that recently due to all the erosion and road destruction. I don't know where that water eventually entered the river, but it likely caused mudslides, etc.
That is a whole separate mess to clean up and repair.
I think the concern is they can't stop and inspect anything right now. The dam is so full, they either let the normal concrete slide spillway/weir run full-out to keep up with water entering the reservoir, or they let the dam breach the long emergency spillway and create more mudslides and erosion down to the river (which will have to be restored as well). They can't tell if what they are seeing is the whole story nor if there are any other areas THROUGH the dam that may be failing and allowing even a trickle of water through that could expand and cause a major breach.
It's a tricky situation because both spillways look to have never been used like this in real life and the design/age or both have led to them underperforming and failing (to some extent). They just don't know how bad it could be.
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Not "if," del, but when - as in the next couple of days.
The rains are upon us in California. But don't worry, the state government is all over this ****:
Welcome to the State Water Resources Control Board's (State Water Board) drought actions and information webpage. As we enter a fourth year of drought, it's important to stay well informed and current on all State Water Board actions and news when it comes to the use and conservation of water.
http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/waterrights/water_issues/programs/drought/
Yes, that site is current and includes a link to "Drought Update - SWRCB Briefing," dated 11/15/2016.
I kid you ******* not.
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Oh, and the ******* State Water Resources Control Board has these oh-so important contact numbers still up-and-running:
Contact Information
##Drought Year Hotline (916) 341-5300
##Curtailment Hotline (916) 341-5342
I called them, and yep, still running, and funded by my ******* tax dollars.
Contact Information
##Drought Year Hotline (916) 341-5300
##Curtailment Hotline (916) 341-5342
I called them, and yep, still running, and funded by my ******* tax dollars.
