Officials were warned the Oroville Dam emergency spillway wasn’t safe. They didn’t listen.

[Mileage Psycho]

Goddamned hand wringing librul's always worried about some bullshit that is going to occur in the future
 

Quote

 

Officials were warned the Oroville Dam emergency spillway wasn’t safe. They didn’t listen.

The Washington Post

Kristine Guerra

In 2005, three environmental groups warned state and federal officials about what they believed was a problem with Oroville Dam’s emergency spillway, which was at risk of collapsing over the weekend as recent storms caused the adjacent massive reservoir to swell.

Their concern, which seemed to have fallen on deaf ears: The emergency spillway, which is meant to be used in urgent situations — is not really a spillway. Rather, it’s a 1,700-foot long concrete weir that empties onto a dirt hillside. That means, in the event of severe flooding, water would erode that hillside and flood nearby communities, the groups said then.

That nearly happened on Sunday, when a hole on the emergency spillway threatened to flood the surrounding area and prompted officials to evacuate thousands of residents who remain displaced as of Monday afternoon.

When the Oroville Dam was going through a re-licensing process, the three groups filed a motion in October 2005, urging a federal regulatory agency to require state officials to armor the emergency spillway with concrete so that in case of extreme rain and flooding, water won’t freely cascade down and erode the hillside. The upgrade would have cost million of dollars, and no one wanted to foot the bill, said Ronald Stork, senior policy advocate for Friends of the River, one of the groups that filed the motion.

“When the dam is overfull, water goes over that weir and down the hillside, taking much of the hillside with it,” Stork told The Washington Post. “That causes huge amounts of havoc. There’s roads, there’s transmission lines, power lines that are potentially in the way of that water going down that auxiliary spillway.”

Federal officials, however, determined that nothing was wrong and the emergency spillway, which can handle 350,000 cubic feet of water per second, “would perform as designed,”, according to a July 2006 memo from John Onderdonk, then a senior civil engineer for the federal agency.

“The emergency spillway meets FERC’s engineering guidelines for an emergency spillway,” Onderdonk wrote. “The guidelines specify that during rare flood event, it is acceptable for the emergency spillway to sustain significant damage.”

Fast forward 11 years later, the erosion of the emergency spillway became so severe this weekend with only up to 12,000 cubic feet of water per second. That’s a little more than 3 percent of what officials said the spillway can handle.

Lake Oroville’s level rose significantly after potentially record-setting rain surged through California following a long drought. The Oroville Dam, the tallest in the country at 770 feet, remains stable, officials said. But the structure of the spillways, which are designed to release water from the reservoir in a controlled fashion, have crumbled.

Earlier this month, a portion of the main spillway — a 3,000-foot-long structure lined in concrete — eroded because of the high volume of water spilling from the reservoir, creating a craterlike hole. Officials with the California Department of Water Resources, which owns and operates the dam and reservoir, then decided to use the adjacent emergency spillway for the first time since the dam was built nearly 50 years ago.

Sheets of water began spilling over the emergency spillway and onto the hillside, carrying mud and debris into the nearby Feather River.

The emergency spillway appeared to be working as expected — until Sunday, when officials spotted a hole. That raised fears of a catastrophic flood that could wipe away Oroville, a town of 16,000 people, and prompted officials to evacuate nearly 200,000 area residents.

“Auxiliary spillway at Oroville Dam predicted to fail within the next hour. Oroville residents evacuate northward,” the state water agency tweeted shortly before 5 p.m. Sunday.

Stork believes none of that would have happened had officials listened to his and others’ concerns and built a proper emergency spillway 12 years ago. The two other groups that filed the 2005 motion are the Sierra Club and the South Yuba River Citizens League.

“They told us not to worry. All was good. Everything was fine. It’s all safe,” Stork said. “First of all, they’re not supposed to fail. That’s not what we do in a first-world country. We don’t do that. We certainly don’t do that with the nation’s tallest dam. An auxiliary spillway isn’t supposed to cause lots of havoc when it’s being used.”

Construction would’ve cost at least $100 million, Stork said, and the state contractors in Southern California that buy water from Northern California would’ve had to pay for it. The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which provides water to 19 million people in Los Angeles, San Diego and other areas, and the State Water Contractors, would’ve had to shoulder the cost and deemed the upgrades unnecessary, according to the Oroville Mercury Register.

“The people who are bearing the personal risk of being killed and having their homes washed away are the people of Northern California,” Stork said.

Pressed during a news conference Monday afternoon about the 2005 motion, Bill Croyle, acting director of the Department of Water Resources, said he’s not familiar with the conversations that happened then.

“It’s the first time it’s ever taken water,” Croyle said of the emergency spillway. “We don’t know exactly why this erosion occurred.”

Lester Snow, the agency’s director from 2004 to 2010, told the Oroville Mercury Register that he does not recall specific information about the debate over the emergency spillway 12 years ago.

“The dam and the outlet structures have always done well in tests and inspections,” Snow told the paper. “I don’t recall the FERC process.”

The crisis seemed to have been averted by Monday. Lake Oroville had dropped to 898 feet by 4 a.m., according to the Sacramento Bee. Water flows into the emergency spillway at 901 feet.

Officials doubled the flow of water out of the main spillway to 100,000 cubic feet per second, with the hope of lowering the lake level by 50 feet to leave room for upcoming rain.

Rain is expected through the region on Wednesday and Thursday, with showers lingering on Friday and Saturday, according to the National Weather Service. Water levels also are expected to rise later this week and into early next week.

Officials said Monday that they’re continuing to monitor the spillways for further erosion.

It remains unclear Monday when residents will be allowed back to their homes. Inmates at the Butte County Jail also have been moved to Alameda County about 170 miles away.

Samantha Schmidt and Derek Hawkins contributed to this story.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/officials-were-warned-the-oroville-dam-emergency-spillway-wasn’t-safe-they-didn’t-listen/ar-AAmU43u

 

 

[spin_dry]

5 minutes ago, Mileage Psycho said:

Goddamned hand wringing librul's always worried about some bullshit that is going to occur in the future
 

 

expect a response. . 

[Jimmy Snacks]

Are the people that ignored the warnings Pubs or Dems....do you know? Does anybody really GAF?

Edited February 15, 2017 by Biggie Smails

[JEFF]

It's implied Arnold was governor then. Which he was.

until 2011.

Jerry Brown who is a democratic governor has been there how long? They've been in a drought for how many years?

Must be bush's fault.

Edited February 15, 2017 by JEFF

[Ez ryder]

see Bush fault

Construction would’ve cost at least $100 million, Stork said, and the state contractors in Southern California that buy water from Northern California would’ve had to pay for it. The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which provides water to 19 million people in Los Angeles, San Diego and other areas, and the State Water Contractors, would’ve had to shoulder the cost and deemed the upgrades unnecessary

[Sleepr2]

Fuckin Bush!

[Mileage Psycho]

1 hour ago, Biggie Smails said:

Are the people that ignored the warnings Pubs or Dems....do you know? Does anybody really GAF?

2005  

1 hour ago, JEFF said:

It's implied Arnold was governor then. Which he was.

until 2011.

Jerry Brown who is a democratic governor has been there how long? They've been in a drought for how many years?

Must be bush's fault.

Hmmmm, the Federales license the damn, Ronnie dedicated and at the end of the day libruls warned about it

 

Quote

 

On May 4, 1968, Oroville Dam was officially dedicated by the state of California. Among the notable figures present were California governor Ronald Reagan, who spoke,[21][22][23] Chief Justice (formerly California governor) Earl Warren, Senator Thomas Kuchel, and California Representative Harold T. "Bizz" Johnson.[24] The dedication was accompanied by a week of festivities in nearby Oroville, attended by nearly 50,000 people.[25]

2005 dam re-licensing

On October 17, 2005 three environmental groups filed a motion with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission urging federal officials to require that the dam’s emergency spillway be armored with concrete, rather than remain as an earthen spillway and that it did not meet modern safety standards. "In the event of extreme rain and flooding, fast-rising water would overwhelm the main concrete spillway, then flow down the emergency spillway, and that could cause heavy erosion that would create flooding for communities downstream, but also could cause a failure, known as 'loss of crest control.'" FERC and water agencies responsible for the cost of the upgrades said it was unnecessary and concerns were overblown.[26][27]

In 2006, a senior civil engineer sent a memo to his managers stating “The emergency spillway meets FERC’s engineering guidelines for an emergency spillway,” and that “The guidelines specify that during a rare flood event, it is acceptable for the emergency spillway to sustain significant damage."[28]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oroville_Dam

 

 

 

 

Edited February 15, 2017 by Mileage Psycho

[Mileage Psycho]

1 hour ago, spin_dry said:

expect a response. . 

Another Chinese hoax  

[JEFF]

8 hours ago, Mileage Psycho said:

2005  

Hmmmm, the Federales license the damn, Ronnie dedicated and at the end of the day libruls warned about it

 

 

 

 

Yes the "libruls" warned about it. But... The "libruls" did nothing to remedy the problem that the "libruls" warned of in the last six years with their total control of the government in the librul utopia of California.  They play pass the buck as well as anyone.

From your quote above.

On October 17, 2005 three environmental groups filed a motion with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission urging federal officials to require that the dam’s emergency spillway be armored with concrete, rather than remain as an earthen spillway and that it did not meet modern safety standards. "In the event of extreme rain and flooding, fast-rising water would overwhelm the main concrete spillway, then flow down the emergency spillway, and that could cause heavy erosion that would create flooding for communities downstream, but also could cause a failure, known as 'loss of crest control.'" FERC and water agencies responsible for the cost of the upgrades said it was unnecessary and concerns were overblown.[26][27]

In 2006, a senior civil engineer sent a memo to his managers stating “The emergency spillway meets FERC’s engineering guidelines for an emergency spillway,” and that “The guidelines specify that during a rare flood event, it is acceptable for the emergency spillway to sustain significant damage."[28]

Who was in charge of the FERC in 2005? Who was the top dog? hint. it wasn't a republican.

[Skidooski]

Finger pointing is an obsession for some of you!

How abut just fix the fucking thing before it breaks instead of wasting energy pushing blame

Edited February 15, 2017 by Skidooski

[hayward]

An earthen spillway on just about any amount of water flowing into is just a recipe for disaster.  This is a hell of a lot of water flowing over right now.  I'm surprised it lasted this long without major problems.  Pretty easy to fix in a drought rather than right now.  Someone dropped the ball big time.

[Snoslinger]

11 minutes ago, hayward said:

An earthen spillway on just about any amount of water flowing into is just a recipe for disaster.  This is a hell of a lot of water flowing over right now.  I'm surprised it lasted this long without major problems.  Pretty easy to fix in a drought rather than right now.  Someone dropped the ball big time.

I think you're referring to the emergency back-up. This is in reference to the main emergency chute, made of concrete.

[Snoslinger]

it's amazing how quickly CA's water drought is recovering.

[Cold War]

I heard this morning "epic disaster" avoided, residents were  returning to their homes.

Is everything that happens in this Country now going to be a politicked shit show?  

The media hypes all these things up, the internet-ers  gets whipped into a frenzy, telling each other to "fuck Off", over something they don't really care about. 

Next week, no one will care and we will do it all over again.     

[Skidooski]

27 minutes ago, Cold War said:

I heard this morning "epic disaster" avoided, residents were  returning to their homes.

Is everything that happens in this Country now going to be a politicked shit show? 

The media hypes all these things up, the internet-ers  gets whipped into a frenzy, telling each other to "fuck Off", over something they don't really care about.

Next week, no one will care and we will do it all over again.    

Nailed it!

 

Or in words even MC can understand.......BOOM!

[racer254]

3 hours ago, Snoslinger said:

it's amazing how quickly CA's water drought is recovering.

Filled by the tears of liberals. 

[hayward]

4 hours ago, Snoslinger said:

I think you're referring to the emergency back-up. This is in reference to the main emergency chute, made of concrete.

I think it's important that both be suited to control erosion no matter the everyday main path for the water to run or the emergency overflow path.  I wonder if water rights agreements will change now that there is a surplus of water again, although who knows how long until mother nature shuts the spigot off again.

[Snoslinger]

1 hour ago, hayward said:

I think it's important that both be suited to control erosion no matter the everyday main path for the water to run or the emergency overflow path.  I wonder if water rights agreements will change now that there is a surplus of water again, although who knows how long until mother nature shuts the spigot off again.

I agree

[Mileage Psycho]

6 hours ago, Snoslinger said:

it's amazing how quickly CA's water drought is recovering.

There are aquifers that have significantly collapsed the past few years, California's water issues are far from over.

 

[Snoslinger]

wonder what % has been recovered...

[SVT MXZ XRS]

7 hours ago, JEFF said:

Yes the "libruls" warned about it. But... The "libruls" did nothing to remedy the problem that the "libruls" warned of in the last six years with their total control of the government in the librul utopia of California.  They play pass the buck as well as anyone.

From your quote above.

On October 17, 2005 three environmental groups filed a motion with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission urging federal officials to require that the dam’s emergency spillway be armored with concrete, rather than remain as an earthen spillway and that it did not meet modern safety standards. "In the event of extreme rain and flooding, fast-rising water would overwhelm the main concrete spillway, then flow down the emergency spillway, and that could cause heavy erosion that would create flooding for communities downstream, but also could cause a failure, known as 'loss of crest control.'" FERC and water agencies responsible for the cost of the upgrades said it was unnecessary and concerns were overblown.[26][27]

In 2006, a senior civil engineer sent a memo to his managers stating “The emergency spillway meets FERC’s engineering guidelines for an emergency spillway,” and that “The guidelines specify that during a rare flood event, it is acceptable for the emergency spillway to sustain significant damage."[28]

Who was in charge of the FERC in 2005? Who was the top dog? hint. it wasn't a republican.

Yep 

6 hours ago, Cold War said:

I heard this morning "epic disaster" avoided, residents were  returning to their homes.

Is everything that happens in this Country now going to be a politicked shit show?  

The media hypes all these things up, the internet-ers  gets whipped into a frenzy, telling each other to "fuck Off", over something they don't really care about. 

Next week, no one will care and we will do it all over again.     

They were VERY lucky , that's for sure 

[hayward]

weather channel showed rain 6 out of the next 7 days around this problem damn.  Are they out of the woods yet?

[Ez ryder]

the snow has yet to start to melt .

but hey they have a great green train system

[Cold War]

This is what the dam would look like if a bus full of school kids crashed into it, Bob .