Prayers for members Harvey and Al Weidman., The Oroville Dam E-Spillway is failing. |
|
Porsche, and the Porsche crest are registered trademarks of Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG.
This site is not affiliated with Porsche in any way. Its only purpose is to provide an online forum for car enthusiasts. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners. |
|
Prayers for members Harvey and Al Weidman., The Oroville Dam E-Spillway is failing. |
ConeDodger |
Feb 12 2017, 08:10 PM
Post
#1
|
Apex killer! Group: Members Posts: 23,569 Joined: 31-December 04 From: Tahoe Area Member No.: 3,380 Region Association: Northern California |
The dam itself is apparently holding, but the Emergency Spillway which is being used for the first time in the 50 year history of the dam is eroding away quickly and expected to fail. Oroville is below the dam.
Residents have been told to evacuate. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif) |
Spoke |
Feb 15 2017, 03:08 PM
Post
#2
|
Jerry Group: Members Posts: 6,977 Joined: 29-October 04 From: Allentown, PA Member No.: 3,031 Region Association: None |
Good luck guys; hope all stays safe.
That dam looks mighty scary being as high and full as it is. Plus it's an earthen dam? Question: What is the purpose of this dam? Flood control? Water supply? Power? |
GregAmy |
Feb 15 2017, 04:46 PM
Post
#3
|
Advanced Member Group: Members Posts: 2,268 Joined: 22-February 13 From: Middletown CT Member No.: 15,565 Region Association: North East States |
What is the purpose of this dam? Flood control? Water supply? Power? All of the above. Note that the 770' dam itself is not at risk; it's fine. Haven't read the entire thread, but Saturday/Sunday's issue was a culmination of a couple of things. First, earlier failure of the downstream primary spillway (the long concrete chute) which caused them to reduce the flow through that spillway to avoid further damage. They intentionally allowed the reservoir level to rise and overtop the emergency weir for that purpose. What they had not accounted for was the erosion below that weir. As water volume increased over the weir that area became significantly eroded and scouring below it started to walk up toward the weir. They called for immediate evacuation because they saw the scouring moving toward the weir and were concerned they could not stop the flow over it before it compromised and they lost the weir. To address that they doubled the flow through the primary spillway (that was a ballsy call) and coupled to the coincidental (and fortunate) significantly reduced flow INTO the reservoir, they stopped the flow over the weir, alleviating that immediate problem. They are now armoring that weir overflow area with stone bags and grouting so that if the level does rise above the weir again that area will be secure. Fortunately, the primary spillway damage is stabilized at the current flow of 100k, so there's no immediate risk there either. They'll continue to run the spillway at that "known safe" flow of 100k to draw down the reservoir as much as possible as a buffer against future inflows. So again: no danger to the primary dam, situation stabilized at the spillways, with mitigation efforts ongoing to ensure it doesn't happen again. Here's a nice link to see current flows in and out, as well as reservoir level; for reference, flow begins over the weir at 901 feet. Hit "latest" at the bottom to get updates: http://cdec.water.ca.gov/cgi-progs/queryF?...mp;span=24hours Not associated with the program in any way. Have some Internet-friends that are, but this info is all publicly available. |
Lo-Fi Version | Time is now: 29th April 2024 - 02:48 AM |
All rights reserved 914World.com © since 2002 |
914World.com is the fastest growing online 914 community! We have it all, classifieds, events, forums, vendors, parts, autocross, racing, technical articles, events calendar, newsletter, restoration, gallery, archives, history and more for your Porsche 914 ... |