Sunday, March 12, 2017 8:24:23 PM
Twelve years ago officials were warned that the Oroville Dam spillway could become a problem unless corrections/repairs were made.
Feds and state officials ignored warnings 12 years ago
Photos taken weeks before spillway broke show something wrong
Feb. 8 photo shows the hole that opened the previous day in the main Oroville Dam spillway, starting at the location highlighted above.
Two photos taken by photographers from The Mercury News show discoloration and possible damage to the concrete of the spillway at the spot where a gaping hole opened Feb. 7. Those pictures were taken Jan. 13 and Jan. 27.
When asked for a response to the photos, California Natural Resources Agency deputy secretary for communication Nancy Vogel wrote in an email to this newspaper, “Oroville dam was frequently inspected by multiple state and federal agencies. Reports of those inspections did not reveal any major causes for concern.
Despite claims the department performed inspections twice per year, the spillway had not been fully inspected with operations and maintenance workers on the concrete in just over two years, according to a DWR spokeswoman, before a worker noticed the concrete breaking up on his way to work this Feb. 7.
After the February 2015 inspection, there were inspections of the dam by the DWR in July 2015 and August 2016, but those didn’t involve workers walking on the spillway getting a close look.
Water was released for the first time in five years. Three years after the board met, the spillway broke and the structure was ruined. It has been more than a month, and the cost is estimated to be $4.7 million per day, or about $150 million to date.
Helicopters dropped bags of boulders and rocks into the spillway hole.
The side of the Oroville Dam spilllway wall is badly damaged, exposing its rebar.
Early rough estimates by DWR acting Director Bill Croyle put the cost to either fix the existing spillway or build a new one are between $100 million and $200 million.
http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/03/11/oroville-dam-photos-taken-weeks-before-spillway-broke-show-something-wrong/
On Jan. 13 when water began to flow down the Oroville Dam spillway, an unusual wave or bubble pattern was visible at the location that became much more visible after spillway flows were cut back a week later.
http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/03/11/oroville-dam-photos-taken-weeks-before-spillway-broke-show-something-wrong/
On March 6, after flow was cut off on the main Oroville Dam spillway, the extent of the damage could be seen.
Shotcrete — a sprayable concrete — is applied Tuesday under the lip of the damaged main Oroville Dam spillway.
An excavator on a barge Monday lifts debris from the diversion pool at the base of the damaged Oroville Dam spillway, and places it on another barge for removal.
Crews continue removing sediment and debris below the Oroville Dam spillway 24 hours a day to deepen the channel in the diversion pool leading to the Hyatt Powerplant in Oroville, California, March 5, 2017. Approximately 517,000 cubic yards of material have been removed from the debris pile to date.
Dump trucks are at work Monday removing debris from below the broken Oroville Dam spillway.
In Oroville, Calif. Tuesday Feb. 28, 2017.
The economic damage from the collapsed spillway is not yet known.
Empty stores, closed up businesses.
March 10 (UPI) -- Officials in northern California said they will likely have to reopen the heavily damaged Oroville Dam spillway as water continues to rise in its reservoir.
The spillway has been shut off since Feb. 27, when officials with the California Department of Water Resources closed it off to begin repairs and remove debris that had built up after a series of massive water releases into the Feather River below the dam.
The Los Angeles Times reported Thursday officials are planning to reopen the partially repaired spillway after water levels in Lake Oroville have risen 21 feet due to rain and melting snow in the area.
The Sacramento Bee reported the water release could being as soon as March 17, by which point the water levels in the lake are expected to rise another 5 feet.
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2017/03/10/Damaged-Oroville-Dam-spillway-may-reopen-as-water-levels-rise/1691489123110/
California asks Trump for help with Oroville Dam spillway
Feb. 14 (UPI) -- California Gov. Jerry Brown requested federal assistance from President Donald Trump over the "potential failure" of the Ororville Dam emergency spillway.
"I respectfully request that you issue an emergency declaration for direct federal assistance for the counties of Butte, Sutter and Yuba, as a result of the potential failure of the Lake Oroville Dam emergency spillway," Brown wrote in a letter to Trump released Monday night.
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2017/02/14/California-asks-Trump-for-help-with-Oroville-Dam-spillway/3931487070658/?st_rec=1691489123110
Feds and state officials ignored warnings 12 years ago
Photos taken weeks before spillway broke show something wrong
Feb. 8 photo shows the hole that opened the previous day in the main Oroville Dam spillway, starting at the location highlighted above.
Two photos taken by photographers from The Mercury News show discoloration and possible damage to the concrete of the spillway at the spot where a gaping hole opened Feb. 7. Those pictures were taken Jan. 13 and Jan. 27.
When asked for a response to the photos, California Natural Resources Agency deputy secretary for communication Nancy Vogel wrote in an email to this newspaper, “Oroville dam was frequently inspected by multiple state and federal agencies. Reports of those inspections did not reveal any major causes for concern.
Despite claims the department performed inspections twice per year, the spillway had not been fully inspected with operations and maintenance workers on the concrete in just over two years, according to a DWR spokeswoman, before a worker noticed the concrete breaking up on his way to work this Feb. 7.
After the February 2015 inspection, there were inspections of the dam by the DWR in July 2015 and August 2016, but those didn’t involve workers walking on the spillway getting a close look.
Water was released for the first time in five years. Three years after the board met, the spillway broke and the structure was ruined. It has been more than a month, and the cost is estimated to be $4.7 million per day, or about $150 million to date.
Helicopters dropped bags of boulders and rocks into the spillway hole.
The side of the Oroville Dam spilllway wall is badly damaged, exposing its rebar.
Early rough estimates by DWR acting Director Bill Croyle put the cost to either fix the existing spillway or build a new one are between $100 million and $200 million.
http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/03/11/oroville-dam-photos-taken-weeks-before-spillway-broke-show-something-wrong/
On Jan. 13 when water began to flow down the Oroville Dam spillway, an unusual wave or bubble pattern was visible at the location that became much more visible after spillway flows were cut back a week later.
http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/03/11/oroville-dam-photos-taken-weeks-before-spillway-broke-show-something-wrong/
On March 6, after flow was cut off on the main Oroville Dam spillway, the extent of the damage could be seen.
Shotcrete — a sprayable concrete — is applied Tuesday under the lip of the damaged main Oroville Dam spillway.
An excavator on a barge Monday lifts debris from the diversion pool at the base of the damaged Oroville Dam spillway, and places it on another barge for removal.
Crews continue removing sediment and debris below the Oroville Dam spillway 24 hours a day to deepen the channel in the diversion pool leading to the Hyatt Powerplant in Oroville, California, March 5, 2017. Approximately 517,000 cubic yards of material have been removed from the debris pile to date.
Dump trucks are at work Monday removing debris from below the broken Oroville Dam spillway.
In Oroville, Calif. Tuesday Feb. 28, 2017.
The economic damage from the collapsed spillway is not yet known.
Empty stores, closed up businesses.
March 10 (UPI) -- Officials in northern California said they will likely have to reopen the heavily damaged Oroville Dam spillway as water continues to rise in its reservoir.
The spillway has been shut off since Feb. 27, when officials with the California Department of Water Resources closed it off to begin repairs and remove debris that had built up after a series of massive water releases into the Feather River below the dam.
The Los Angeles Times reported Thursday officials are planning to reopen the partially repaired spillway after water levels in Lake Oroville have risen 21 feet due to rain and melting snow in the area.
The Sacramento Bee reported the water release could being as soon as March 17, by which point the water levels in the lake are expected to rise another 5 feet.
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2017/03/10/Damaged-Oroville-Dam-spillway-may-reopen-as-water-levels-rise/1691489123110/
California asks Trump for help with Oroville Dam spillway
Feb. 14 (UPI) -- California Gov. Jerry Brown requested federal assistance from President Donald Trump over the "potential failure" of the Ororville Dam emergency spillway.
"I respectfully request that you issue an emergency declaration for direct federal assistance for the counties of Butte, Sutter and Yuba, as a result of the potential failure of the Lake Oroville Dam emergency spillway," Brown wrote in a letter to Trump released Monday night.
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2017/02/14/California-asks-Trump-for-help-with-Oroville-Dam-spillway/3931487070658/?st_rec=1691489123110
Starting to drain the swamp.
Join the InvestorsHub Community
Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.
