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California's Lake Oroville Main Spillway Severely Damaged/Eroded. Oroville Dam's Recently Reconstructed Main Spillway Fundamentally Flawed

 
LJM77

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02/08/2017 09:16 PM
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Re: California's Lake Oroville Main Spillway Severely Damaged/Eroded. Oroville Dam's Recently Reconstructed Main Spillway Fundamentally Flawed


wtf
Crunch62

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02/08/2017 09:16 PM

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Re: California's Lake Oroville Main Spillway Severely Damaged/Eroded. Oroville Dam's Recently Reconstructed Main Spillway Fundamentally Flawed
How much has it the water risen in the last 24 hours? I know there was a chart somewhere in this thread.
 Quoting: Kapesh


I'm not sure about 24 hours, but it has risen about 5 feet in the past 12.
 Quoting: Crunch62


No shit??
 Quoting: LJM77


Yes, it was at 865' at 6AM, now a bit over 870' at 6PM.
What the Hell?...
Serenity12

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02/08/2017 09:27 PM
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Re: California's Lake Oroville Main Spillway Severely Damaged/Eroded. Oroville Dam's Recently Reconstructed Main Spillway Fundamentally Flawed
My mother at least has some things packed. They are watching closely. They are being told it is not an immediate threat. I told her to please not just go by what they are saying but based on her gut once this storm starts.

She sits right between the Feather and Yuba Rivers, literally. Less than 1-2 miles for each. Her exit would not be easy if too much water overflows.

People can be so stupid, she has an event on Saturday and doesn't want to leave.
Crunch62

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02/08/2017 09:32 PM

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Re: California's Lake Oroville Main Spillway Severely Damaged/Eroded. Oroville Dam's Recently Reconstructed Main Spillway Fundamentally Flawed
They ran a spillway test this afternoon to see how a low flow release would affect the damaged spillway.

[link to twitter.com (secure)]
What the Hell?...
Anonymous Coward
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02/08/2017 09:32 PM
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Re: California's Lake Oroville Main Spillway Severely Damaged/Eroded. Oroville Dam's Recently Reconstructed Main Spillway Fundamentally Flawed
Are there any other members of the GLP mafia in Oroville?
LJM77

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02/08/2017 09:33 PM
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Re: California's Lake Oroville Main Spillway Severely Damaged/Eroded. Oroville Dam's Recently Reconstructed Main Spillway Fundamentally Flawed
They ran a spillway test this afternoon to see how a low flow release would affect the damaged spillway.

[link to twitter.com (secure)]
 Quoting: Crunch62


Water is a destructive force man. I've seen it up close!
Anonymous Coward
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02/08/2017 09:35 PM
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Re: California's Lake Oroville Main Spillway Severely Damaged/Eroded. Oroville Dam's Recently Reconstructed Main Spillway Fundamentally Flawed
They ran a spillway test this afternoon to see how a low flow release would affect the damaged spillway.

[link to twitter.com (secure)]
 Quoting: Crunch62


Water is a destructive force man. I've seen it up close!
 Quoting: LJM77


Not really.
LJM77

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02/08/2017 09:38 PM
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Re: California's Lake Oroville Main Spillway Severely Damaged/Eroded. Oroville Dam's Recently Reconstructed Main Spillway Fundamentally Flawed
They ran a spillway test this afternoon to see how a low flow release would affect the damaged spillway.

[link to twitter.com (secure)]
 Quoting: Crunch62


Water is a destructive force man. I've seen it up close!
 Quoting: LJM77


Not really.
 Quoting: Anonymous Coward 45344521


Really.
Crunch62

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02/08/2017 09:39 PM

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Re: California's Lake Oroville Main Spillway Severely Damaged/Eroded. Oroville Dam's Recently Reconstructed Main Spillway Fundamentally Flawed
Are there any other members of the GLP mafia in Oroville?
 Quoting: Ms. Wun Wun 530


I'm actually a bit south, near the Yuba County border, but am in Oroville every day for work.
What the Hell?...
Anonymous Coward
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02/08/2017 09:40 PM
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Re: California's Lake Oroville Main Spillway Severely Damaged/Eroded. Oroville Dam's Recently Reconstructed Main Spillway Fundamentally Flawed
I wish an intelligent mod would pin this realistic thread again and unpin that 'other' ridiculous thread that is going off in a sideways direction...

rant

1dunno1
 Quoting: Anonymous Coward 69497498


GOT MY WISH!
woohoo
Anonymous Coward
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02/08/2017 09:43 PM
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Re: California's Lake Oroville Main Spillway Severely Damaged/Eroded. Oroville Dam's Recently Reconstructed Main Spillway Fundamentally Flawed
Are there any other members of the GLP mafia in Oroville?
 Quoting: Ms. Wun Wun 530


I'm actually a bit south, near the Yuba County border, but am in Oroville every day for work.
 Quoting: Crunch62


And I'm just up the hill about 20 min. SE of the dam.
Desertwolf

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02/08/2017 09:45 PM
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Re: California's Lake Oroville Main Spillway Severely Damaged/Eroded. Oroville Dam's Recently Reconstructed Main Spillway Fundamentally Flawed
What caused the blowout? was it undercutting?
And here we are staring at each other through an electronic............ error goto ram

I FIGHT FOR ROME!!!
Anonymous Coward
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02/08/2017 09:53 PM
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Re: California's Lake Oroville Main Spillway Severely Damaged/Eroded. Oroville Dam's Recently Reconstructed Main Spillway Fundamentally Flawed
To the two who are close to Oroville: you'll understand I live in the Historical district and I can see the Levy's down Pine, one block over. I see the river flooding on the way to Butte. I'm not from here so what do I watch out for? Thank you in advance
Anonymous Coward
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02/08/2017 10:03 PM
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Re: California's Lake Oroville Main Spillway Severely Damaged/Eroded. Oroville Dam's Recently Reconstructed Main Spillway Fundamentally Flawed
To the two who are close to Oroville: you'll understand I live in the Historical district and I can see the Levy's down Pine, one block over. I see the river flooding on the way to Butte. I'm not from here so what do I watch out for? Thank you in advance
 Quoting: Ms. Wun Wun 530


If it is not too inconvenient and within your financial means I would consider taking a vacation to visit reletives for a couple weeks elsewhere...
If not, don't panic, just keep an eye on the news and all recent developments....and the weather forecast...
Anonymous Coward
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02/08/2017 10:04 PM
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Re: California's Lake Oroville Main Spillway Severely Damaged/Eroded. Oroville Dam's Recently Reconstructed Main Spillway Fundamentally Flawed
They ran a spillway test this afternoon to see how a low flow release would affect the damaged spillway.

[link to twitter.com (secure)]
 Quoting: Crunch62


Water is a destructive force man. I've seen it up close!
 Quoting: LJM77


Not really.
 Quoting: Anonymous Coward 45344521


Are you a special kind of stupid or something?
Crunch62

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02/08/2017 10:12 PM

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Re: California's Lake Oroville Main Spillway Severely Damaged/Eroded. Oroville Dam's Recently Reconstructed Main Spillway Fundamentally Flawed
To the two who are close to Oroville: you'll understand I live in the Historical district and I can see the Levy's down Pine, one block over. I see the river flooding on the way to Butte. I'm not from here so what do I watch out for? Thank you in advance
 Quoting: Ms. Wun Wun 530


In years with heavy rainfall, it is not uncommon for releases from the dam to be increased, causing high water levels in the river between the levees. The channel between the levees is pretty narrow there downtown. Seeing high water there should not be a cause for panic.

The parks and trails in the river bottoms in between the levees are considered necessarily expendable, needing repair or rebuilding after high-water events. Such events may be decades apart, so why not put that land into use in the intervening years?

I have been here about 32 years, and events in my memory happened in 1986 and 1997.

Things to watch for would include 'boils', when river water starts permeating the earthen levee and begins pooling on the dry side. These can lead to levee failure, and often begin with very small holes, such as gopher holes, that exist in the levee.

'Slumping' is also an issue. If river water levels rapidly fluctuate, the softened earth on the river side of the levee can slump, sometimes leading to failure. This is more of an issue where the river channel defined by the levees is wider, such as south of Oroville, toward Biggs, Gridley and Live Oak.

Living next to a river is common, and humans have been doing it for a very long time. Rest assured that during high water events, the situation is being monitored closely and residents will receive warnings or evacuation notice if necessary.
What the Hell?...
ItsaTwister

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02/08/2017 10:13 PM
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Re: California's Lake Oroville Main Spillway Severely Damaged/Eroded. Oroville Dam's Recently Reconstructed Main Spillway Fundamentally Flawed
Yesterday Astral Goat said he was pinning this thread for emergency monitoring. Not sure what that entails, but it does need to stay pinned please.

Folks in California should read the article from Scientific American about the flooding that occurred during the winter of 1861 - 1862 and be aware that this could happen again.

Prayers that this situation with the dam and spillway does not become an emergency and a way to repair it is quickly found. Everyone stay aware and prepared!
Anonymous Coward
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02/08/2017 10:19 PM
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Re: California's Lake Oroville Main Spillway Severely Damaged/Eroded. Oroville Dam's Recently Reconstructed Main Spillway Fundamentally Flawed
Thank you for responding to me. I don't have the means or destination to leave. I'm going to keep watching I guess. I appreciate your help. All the best
Anonymous Coward
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02/08/2017 10:24 PM
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Re: California's Lake Oroville Main Spillway Severely Damaged/Eroded. Oroville Dam's Recently Reconstructed Main Spillway Fundamentally Flawed
What caused the blowout? was it undercutting?
 Quoting: Desertwolf


under engineered...
Anonymous Coward
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02/08/2017 10:29 PM
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Re: California's Lake Oroville Main Spillway Severely Damaged/Eroded. Oroville Dam's Recently Reconstructed Main Spillway Fundamentally Flawed
What caused the blowout? was it undercutting?
 Quoting: Desertwolf


under engineered...
 Quoting: Anonymous Coward 37924185


to save money of course..never enough time or money to do it right the first time, but always money and time to do it over.
Crunch62

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02/08/2017 10:32 PM

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Re: California's Lake Oroville Main Spillway Severely Damaged/Eroded. Oroville Dam's Recently Reconstructed Main Spillway Fundamentally Flawed
Thank you for responding to me. I don't have the means or destination to leave. I'm going to keep watching I guess. I appreciate your help. All the best
 Quoting: Ms. Wun Wun 530


If I were to be in the downtown historic district and received warning of imminent flooding, I would have three possible destinations for immediate evac.

The first, if possible, would be to head north to the bluff area on the north side of the river (Home Depot vicinity). This would assume the highway bridge is intact and accessible.

Second would be south along Feather River Boulevard and up Power House Hill Road. There is an overlook area at the top, where any flooding below would be obvious.

Third would be navigating to Lincoln Blvd. and head south, up the hill to the vicinity of the 7-11 at Monte Vista Ave.

Assuming there is enough warning, any of these destinations should remain high and dry.
What the Hell?...
Anonymous Coward
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02/08/2017 10:43 PM
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Re: California's Lake Oroville Main Spillway Severely Damaged/Eroded. Oroville Dam's Recently Reconstructed Main Spillway Fundamentally Flawed
Now I see they changed the long range forecast...
Heavy rains through Fri. am as expected....then clearing for just 4 days...
Then several more storms starting by Wed. next week...
THIS could be when the major problems begin...
Crunch62

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02/08/2017 10:50 PM

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Re: California's Lake Oroville Main Spillway Severely Damaged/Eroded. Oroville Dam's Recently Reconstructed Main Spillway Fundamentally Flawed
Yesterday Astral Goat said he was pinning this thread for emergency monitoring. Not sure what that entails, but it does need to stay pinned please.

Folks in California should read the article from Scientific American about the flooding that occurred during the winter of 1861 - 1862 and be aware that this could happen again.

Prayers that this situation with the dam and spillway does not become an emergency and a way to repair it is quickly found. Everyone stay aware and prepared!
 Quoting: ItsaTwister


I think the only possible emergency is that the inflow above the dam exceeds the release capacity of the powerhouse and the damaged spillway, causing the emergency overflow spillway to come into use.

This scenario was a possibility in 1997, when the inflow exceeded the release capacity by 100,000+ CFS. All of the downtown Oroville area was evacuated, as were Marysville and Yuba City downstream. Thankfully, the rain stopped, the
inflow slowed, and major disaster was averted for the area. A levee did fail south of Marysville, flooding what was then mostly farmland.

The scenario today, with the main spillway damaged, is a bit different. A short distance below the main dam is a structure known as the Diversion Dam. The river channel between the main dam and the Diversion Dam is known as the Diversion Pool. The Diversion Dam is used to divert water from the main river channel into a canal that feeds other resources of the system, such as the Thermalito Forebay and the Thermalito Afterbay. These are largely used to supply agricultural water at varying temperatures.

If the Emergency Spillway comes into play (uncontrolled overflow), the water coursing over it would erode the hillside beneath it, dumping debris and sediment into the Diversion Pool. If the debris fills the Diversion Pool to the level of the Diversion Dam, the Diversion Dam will become irrelevant, with the water choosing the easiest course, which would be through the main river channel and downtown Oroville.

This would be bad.
What the Hell?...
Anonymous Coward
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02/08/2017 10:57 PM
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Re: California's Lake Oroville Main Spillway Severely Damaged/Eroded. Oroville Dam's Recently Reconstructed Main Spillway Fundamentally Flawed
That dam is built by a fault line. The Feds want a through study done for its earthquake safety, and the state says it is fine and safe and doesnt want to spend money related to this.

Honestly if i lived below it i would do everything possible to move permanently. And get your affairs in order, like a will if you have money to leave to heirs and so forth.

Google it if you dont believe me. And dont trust the ones who think an earthquake wont hurt it.
Crunch62

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02/08/2017 11:05 PM

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Re: California's Lake Oroville Main Spillway Severely Damaged/Eroded. Oroville Dam's Recently Reconstructed Main Spillway Fundamentally Flawed
Waiting for 8 PM numbers, but it looks like the spillway release has been cut back to a trickle.
What the Hell?...
Anonymous Coward
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02/08/2017 11:15 PM
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Re: California's Lake Oroville Main Spillway Severely Damaged/Eroded. Oroville Dam's Recently Reconstructed Main Spillway Fundamentally Flawed
Wonder if the years of drought compromised that hole. Either way, curious to know if they inspected the spillway before they ran that amount of water down.

pl0t-thickens2
Agent MIB
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02/08/2017 11:20 PM
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Re: California's Lake Oroville Main Spillway Severely Damaged/Eroded. Oroville Dam's Recently Reconstructed Main Spillway Fundamentally Flawed
I'm about 15 miles downstream from the dam. CA DWR has been trying to maintain the elevation at around 850 feet (crest elevation is 900') for flood storage.

Even with the previous 50K CFS releases, the lake rose almost 10 feet in the past 24 hours. With the spillway shut down, it will rise even faster. Currently at 858 feet. 42 feet to go.

I'm having flashbacks to 1997, when they thought the dam was going to be overtopped by excessive inflow. It wasn't a fun time.
 Quoting: Crunch62


Lived in Sacramento for years. They have some truly stupid people in charge. If I was you I'd take a vacation starting now.
 Quoting: the redeemable furry pete


According to the official flood maps, we would be OK in the case of a total failure...by about 1 1/2 miles. I'm not sure I trust that estimate. We'd only need to head east about 3 miles to substantially higher ground, but right now, that road is underwater from last night's rain.

Bother.
 Quoting: Crunch62


Do you remember when they almost lost Folsom dam? the Feds had to come in and fix it


So many problems running the nuclear power plant they had to shut it down
 Quoting: the redeemable furry pete


I remember the floods of 1987 and 1997. I guess it missed 2007 and waited until 2017.

I was living and working in Folsom the time the gate on Folsom Dam broke. A few co-workers and myself went down to Nimbus Dam downstream to see all the gates opened up. It was barely able to keep up with all the uncontrolled release from Folsom Dam.

As for the Rancho Seco nuke plant, biggest waste of money for SMUD. Now it's been converted to a co-gen plant. When I lived in El Dorado Hills, I'd wake up every morning and look out my bedroom window to see the 2 cooling towers of in the distance.

I also remember back in the late 1970's feeling a few earthquakes that occurred near Lake Oroville. There was a lot of concern the weight from all the stored water triggered the quakes. I wouldn't be surprised if it happens again soon. If it does, that earthen dam could completely fail. Then it will be DOOM ON...


5a
Crunch62

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02/08/2017 11:25 PM

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Re: California's Lake Oroville Main Spillway Severely Damaged/Eroded. Oroville Dam's Recently Reconstructed Main Spillway Fundamentally Flawed
Wonder if the years of drought compromised that hole. Either way, curious to know if they inspected the spillway before they ran that amount of water down.

 Quoting: Anonymous Coward 73318215


It is quite possible the dry conditions contributed to the failure.


Latest numbers.

Elevation: 872.26'

Inflow: 115420 CFS

River Releases: 6070 CFS

I guess they don't like the performance of the broken spillway, but the clock is ticking.
What the Hell?...
Anonymous Coward
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02/08/2017 11:32 PM
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Re: California's Lake Oroville Main Spillway Severely Damaged/Eroded. Oroville Dam's Recently Reconstructed Main Spillway Fundamentally Flawed
Wonder if the years of drought compromised that hole. Either way, curious to know if they inspected the spillway before they ran that amount of water down.

 Quoting: Anonymous Coward 73318215


It is quite possible the dry conditions contributed to the failure.


Latest numbers.

Elevation: 872.26'

Inflow: 115420 CFS

River Releases: 6070 CFS

I guess they don't like the performance of the broken spillway, but the clock is ticking.
 Quoting: Crunch62


I think the number to watch is the outflow, rather than river releases - river releases is affected by storage/release from the Thermalito dam.

Outflow from 7-8pm was 12750, which matches quoted figures for the powerplant. From 4 to 6pm it was ~32900, which is consistent with a spillway release of 20000 plus power plant release of ~12800.
Anonymous Coward
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02/08/2017 11:35 PM
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Re: California's Lake Oroville Main Spillway Severely Damaged/Eroded. Oroville Dam's Recently Reconstructed Main Spillway Fundamentally Flawed
Wonder if the years of drought compromised that hole. Either way, curious to know if they inspected the spillway before they ran that amount of water down.

 Quoting: Anonymous Coward 73318215


It is quite possible the dry conditions contributed to the failure.


Latest numbers.

Elevation: 872.26'

Inflow: 115420 CFS

River Releases: 6070 CFS

I guess they don't like the performance of the broken spillway, but the clock is ticking.
 Quoting: Crunch62


I think the number to watch is the outflow, rather than river releases - river releases is affected by storage/release from the Thermalito dam.

Outflow from 7-8pm was 12750, which matches quoted figures for the powerplant. From 4 to 6pm it was ~32900, which is consistent with a spillway release of 20000 plus power plant release of ~12800.
 Quoting: Anonymous Coward 70725803


Heaviest rain looks to arrive around 10am Thurs. wouldn't be surprised to see inflows over 200000 around 1pm tomorrow.





GLP