Oroville dam

[Caliyak]

Hey Nor-cal guys, please be safe and prayers for your safety. 

The dam is overflowing and spillway might be failing. Be careful up there. 

[Glenn]

Man this is really bad.  A potentially catastrophic event is about to happen.  I hope everyone evacuates safely and no lives are lost.

[OCdockskipper]

Your post is a little innacurate.

 

The dam is not overflowing.  The auxiliary spillway is being used for the first time in over 40 years and has developed a hole downstream.  If the auxiliary spillway fails, it will release a substantial amount of water all at once, creating a problem downstream.  The dam itself is structurally sound.

 

The reason for using the auxiliary spillway is that the main spillway developed a huge sinkhole halfway down.  They shut down the main spillway to stop erosion around it as water went outside & under the spillway, knocking loose concrete, trees and soil.

[OCdockskipper]

Here is a link to exactly what is occurring and why the dam is not an issue

 

https://www.metabunk.org/oroville-dam-spillway-failure.t8381/ 

[Glenn]

I know exactly what is happening.  I know the dam is sound.  However failure of the spillway could be a catastrophic event nonetheless.  That's why they're evacuating 160,000 people.

 

[SPEEDBEAD.]

Failure of the auxiliary spillway would send about the top 20' of lake Oroville downstream. That seems potentially, um, hazardous...

[Darren.]

Read this morning that the threat has lessened thanks

to hard work laying sand bags and so forth on the 

problematic spots, but the evac still stands, the danger

is still clear and present.

 

Edit: Just looked for link to that story, but can't find it...

 

Stay safe to all there. Would be catastrophic damage if

it fails.

Edited February 13, 2017 by Darren.

[Caliyak]

13 hours ago, OCdockskipper said:

Your post is a little innacurate.

 

The dam is not overflowing.  The auxiliary spillway is being used for the first time in over 40 years and has developed a hole downstream.  If the auxiliary spillway fails, it will release a substantial amount of water all at once, creating a problem downstream.  The dam itself is structurally sound.

 

The reason for using the auxiliary spillway is that the main spillway developed a huge sinkhole halfway down.  They shut down the main spillway to stop erosion around it as water went outside & under the spillway, knocking loose concrete, trees and soil.

these fellow Cali folks are in a dangerous situation. Who cares if I'm accurate or not. Send your prayers, positive thoughts or whatever you do for our fellow man. 

[OCdockskipper]

12 hours ago, Glenn said:

I know exactly what is happening.  I know the dam is sound.  However failure of the spillway could be a catastrophic event nonetheless.  That's why they're evacuating 160,000 people.

 

Glenn, our posts were concurrent.  I wasn't responding to you, I was responding to the OP.

3 minutes ago, Caliyak said:

these fellow Cali folks are in a dangerous situation. Who cares if I'm accurate or not...

 

Since it is indeed a dangerous situation, all the more reason to be accurate.  Otherwise why not post that ISIS has planted bombs on the dam and taken the mayor hostage.  Dangerous situation, accuracy doesn't matter...

 

There is a huge difference between a potential failure of a spillway that could send a 30 foot wall of water flooding downstream and the failure of the nation's tallest dam which would result in a 600 ft wall of water wiping out the same area.  Accuracy does matter.

 

I believe the correct response from you should have been "Thanks for the info, I stand corrected".

[Caliyak]

56 minutes ago, OCdockskipper said:

I believe the correct response from you should have been "Thanks for the info, I stand corrected".

 

Nope, I stand by my post. prayers for our cali friends. 

[blckshirt98]

I read that if the top 30' of the emergency spillway fails, pretty much every town along the highway 70/Feather River corridor will be gone because of the water - Oroville, Oak Grove, Marysville, etc.  I also read they have helicopters dropping rocks into some of the erosion pits to help out.

 

Friend of mine has parents who live in Oroville but they're east of the dam and above any path the water would take.  They currently have 15 people staying at their house, and they're on a septic tank system.

[Gundog]

Scary situation. If it wasn't bad enough that the main spillway caved in, now the auxiliary spillway is starting to erode. I hope those in the way of this water are safe and hope for a safe ending to this. 

[blckshirt98]

It's a bad situation because there's more rain Thursday through the weekend, and not sure how/when they can make repairs and make the call that it's safe for people to go back home.  This evacuation can drag out for weeks.

[Fun4Me]

It looks like the auxiliary spillway potentially collapsing is the most important thing to shore up first. The erosion looks to be less severe in the part where the concrete collapsed in the main spillway. I hope they're able to control it enough to give them time to fix it.

[Angry John]

I think if we loose the emergency spillway the problem will continue to make itself worse.  As the spillway fails and erodes then the amount of water allowed to escape will be more and more as the erosion continues.  This is not as bad as a total failure all at once but I believe it could continue empty...

[Darren.]

Just heard NBC News on radio that the problem is less, but

still critical. Rocks and sand bags helped, but there's a new

worry, coming rain....

[S. Sass]

Hoping everyone is safe and learns some lessons so this doesn't happen again. 

 

I still don't understand how some things like the main spillway were not inspected regularly and kept in excellent shape. How the lake was at such a high level with all the technology we have saying what(weather snow etc) was coming. Just a lot of questionable decisions seemed to have come to light at a dire time. 

 

 

[Caliyak]

18 minutes ago, S. Sass said:

Hoping everyone is safe and learns some lessons so this doesn't happen again. 

 

I still don't understand how some things like the main spillway were not inspected regularly and kept in excellent shape. How the lake was at such a high level with all the technology we have saying what(weather snow etc) was coming. Just a lot of questionable decisions seemed to have come to light at a dire time. 

 

 

This is California. We don't learn. Sacramento does not listen to us. I hope the other states are learning from us. The finger pointing will start real soon.  

[S. Sass]

Just now, Caliyak said:

This is California. We don't learn. Sacramento does not listen to us. I hope the other states are learning from us. The finger pointing will start real soon.  

Well hopefully things will change for the better. 

 

I live very close to Red River. Many lakes drain off into it and can easily be flooded. Cattle, farm land, and farm and ranch equipment are serious business. The ranchers and farmers must know and have coordinated efforts to avoid flooding especially during the winter months. Amazingly Oklahoma and Texas have done a really good job communicating and working well alternating the lakes spillways to not flood downstream. So I know it can be monitored better hopefully they will get it under control.  

[Angry John]

http://gephardtdaily.com/local/developing-nevada-dam-collapse-leads-to-dangerous-flash-flooding-in-elko-county-near-utah-border/

This is not a one of

[Darren.]

49 minutes ago, Angry John said:

http://gephardtdaily.com/local/developing-nevada-dam-collapse-leads-to-dangerous-flash-flooding-in-elko-county-near-utah-border/

This is not a one of

 

Reminiscent of the bridge issues as revealed by the

horrendous I-35 bridge accident in Mississippi. I think

that was the one that spawned the infrastructure 

repair across the US.

 

How many more dams are suspect and in disrepair?

[WRB]

At Oroville it looks like things are settling down as the 2' of water over the fill level that was going over both themergency spillways unchecked has dropped to below the spillway rim and is being controlled at 9,000 cu ft per second flow rate until the lake level is dropped 50' so repairs can be made. The flow rate max was 100,000 cu ft /sec. Another series of storms are due this weekend.

Note, Oroville dam is 770' high, taller than Hoover dam at lake Mead.

Tom

[OCdockskipper]

1 hour ago, Darren. said:

How many more dams are suspect and in disrepair?

 

Great question.  I don't know about other states, but the issue in California is that the money collected for maintenance of infrastructure gets pilfered by the legislature & used to patch up budget leaks elsewhere (pun intended).  The biggest ticking time bomb for us is unfunded pension liabilities.

[Darren.]

4 minutes ago, OCdockskipper said:

 

Great question.  I don't know about other states, but the issue in California is that the money collected for maintenance of infrastructure gets pilfered by the the legislature & used to patch up budget leaks elsewhere (pun intended).  The biggest ticking time bomb for us is unfunded pension liabilities.

 

Any way you slice it, it's a "dam" shame.

Not to make light of the situation, but...

C'mon gov't, let's keep the infrastructure

current!!

[Angry John]

I expect to see a line of cement trucks and pumpers going to town with the fast dry spray concrete like they use in tunnel building.  Its strong and fast.  Getting the government to get there crap together will waste a ton of valuable repair time.