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Oroville dam spillway damaged

How many rescue teams do we need to pull 5000 people out of water? I think we are under thinking this; if it breaks and only releases 10% of its water then an area 1 mile wide and 55 miles long will be under 10 feet of water. This would equal hurricane Katrina by flood area but knock out one power plant, several highways/freeways and cut a sizable amount of water to the Los Angeles "maze" of water entities. If someone could explain the "maze" in a paragraph that would be great.
 
MikeL said:
This really bothers me. So much water is wasted and so many fields are non-producing at the moment because they have had lack of water for so long.

Flooding them would probably bring needed nutrients to the soils (carried by flood waters) and of course help recharge aquifers..

I'm guessing this is much more complicated but it sounds good..
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The collapsed aquifers will not be able to replenish properly in our lifetime.
 
MrIncredible said:
The collapsed aquifers will not be able to replenish properly in our lifetime.
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Yep. California has F'd themselves with agricultural water usage practices. Aquifers will empty in our lifetimes. Enjoy those almonds, people. There's a price to pay for farming in the desert.

PS: thanks mulholland.
 
cause we live in YOLO County!
(building the ark in my yard, leaving out the rats and squirrels this time)
 
I have yet to see any diagram that shows the dam and the threatened community so that I can get a clear picture of what the layout actually is.

That's some lazy-assed journalism there! :thumbdown
 
Climber said:
I have yet to see any diagram that shows the dam and the threatened community so that I can get a clear picture of what the layout actually is.

That's some lazy-assed journalism there! :thumbdown
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You must have your eyes closed, because maps, diagrams, and aerial photos have been all over the news.
 
OldFatGuy said:
You must have your eyes closed, because maps, diagrams, and aerial photos have been all over the news.
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I don't watch the news on TV.

I guess the lazy journalism is occurring on sfgate, which I use simply because it's more local than most of the others.
 
Yeah, I was curious about the spillway when it was mentioned and took a look at google maps. It's nothing more than a concrete lip dumping onto the dirt. Erosion seems like a no brainer, and even the early video showing water cresting the spillway showed it wasn't well routed. Given the concern over the erosion on the main spillway I gotta wonder the competence of the people running the dam. Seems to me like they made a decision to save money on the spillway repair that turned out to be a horrible mistake.
 
This made the Az news,
188,000 thousand homeless and fleeing for their lives. All for some deferred maintenance on the main spillway. They knew there was a problem, why fix a spillway, we're in a drought. Slap on a couple of rolls of plastic sheeting and some rolls of duct tape. But spent the money on HSR to nowhere, and a rehash on the nor-cal bypass canal to steal water for LA. My spell checker won't fix this "preferial" canal, one of the first drafts on how to move water south from the 70's that was voted down, before the latest "tunnels"
I don't live there anymore, but I'm pissed that there is one stupid selfish greedy guy somewhere that did this.
 
It made the WORLD news. This is embarrassing and sad. I feel bad for those affected and it should be a serious wakeup call to the .gov in Sacramento.
 
I commute to Sacramento from the Grass Valley area. This morning along HWY 20 and Hammonton-Smartville Rd, there were dozens of cars out of gas and quite a few people in tents along the roadside. Made me think about having a few gas cans full at home and a plan for fire season and emergencies in general. Grass Valley was a zoo last night. All those people and only two real hotels in town. The gas stations were crazy.The fairgrounds opened up for camping and RVs which helped a little. I hope the evacuees can return home soon, I can't imagine what a pain it is for them.
 
They're just finishing up a major and hugely expensive upgrade on the spillway at Folsom Lake. I bet many were wondering why bother and if it would ever be needed.
 
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