Saturday, July 29, 2017

DAMN, WE OUGHT TO CHECK THOSE DAMN DAMS

by Bob Walsh

The formerly great state of California has decided that 93 of the 1,250 dams overseen by the Dept. of Water Resources are in need of a close inspection. Closer than had been given to, say, the Oroville Dam, the near-catastrophic failure of which could have been remarkable unpleasant for a couple of hundred thousand people immediately downstream. Among them is the New Don Pedro dam, which retains the 6th largest reservoir in CA. (Of course if New Don Pedro Dam failed it is possible that the Old Dan Pedro dam, which was left in place when the new dam was built. MIGHT retain a significant portion of the lake. Or not.)

This exam will include checking the geological condition of the substrate beneath these dams. These checks are supposed to be completed by the rainy season, typically beginning on November 1.

I guess if you are going to have a lot of water behind a big pile of dirt in behooves you to check on the condition of that pile of dirt every now and then.

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