BREAKING: Officials warn of collapse of emergency spillway at Oroville

Monday Quarterback; but, how the hell can they have an emergency spillway with ZERO erosion protection?????
That entire area should have been concreted.
Was the main spillway just dirt....initially?
It absolutely floors me how paid engineers cannot use common sense.

Monday Quarterback; but, how the hell can they have an emergency spillway with ZERO erosion protection?????
That entire area should have been concreted.
Was the main spillway just dirt....initially?
It absolutely floors me how paid engineers cannot use common sense.

This is not the main spillway, which is concrete. This is the emergency spillway.

They thought it would fail by 5pm.  We are almost 4 hours past that, they increased the main spilway to 115k cfs and by now the water should be below the level of the emergency spillway.  As long as it didn't erode completely underneath the emergency spillway sufficiently to have continuing seepage (think just like a levee failure), we should be out of the woods for the immediate time being.

That's a lot of ifs tho.

As for the future, its supposed to dump again mid week through the weekend but the storm is suposed to be a bit colder.  Just keep dropping the level of the lake using the main spillway and it should hold up.

It also seems to me that there really isn't any need to repair the main spillway.  It has eroded down to bedrock, you can't break it anymore.  Shore up the north side near the power transmission towers and call it good, spend the money fixing and maintaining the emergency/auxiliary spillway.

Hope we don't get reports of looting people's homes in the evacuated areas.

My son and both of my sisters are in Oroville. Ive talked with one sister, but havent gotten a hold of the other yet....the one Ive talked with is in Chico with her husband's family thank goodness! Their home is located between the the fore/after bay, to the west of town.

My son was already on duty at the time the evacuations were started, so he's helping with getting those out. Im worried about his house and dog, but he should be high enough. I talked with him earlier tonight.

I also have a cousin in the Plumas Lake area...they happen to be out of town, but they don't know if they will have a home to come back to!

Needless to say, Im keeping my phone close to me tonight.

Hope we don't get reports of looting people's homes in the evacuated areas.

I was listening to the scanner for a bit.  There was a report of looting at a business.  Everyone with a car has left.  The only people left are the elderly, the tweekers, and the cops. 

Seems like a pretty good opportunity for shenanigans and hijinks. 

Glad it's looking better and hope everyone and families are all safe.  Hopefully not cut out enough to be leaking underneath. What I wouldn't give to go down into those newly cut channels under the emergency spillway with a metal detector once the water stops cresting!!

They thought it would fail by 5pm.  We are almost 4 hours past that, they increased the main spilway to 115k cfs and by now the water should be below the level of the emergency spillway.  As long as it didn't erode completely underneath the emergency spillway sufficiently to have continuing seepage (think just like a levee failure), we should be out of the woods for the immediate time being.

That's a lot of ifs tho.

As for the future, its supposed to dump again mid week through the weekend but the storm is suposed to be a bit colder.  Just keep dropping the level of the lake using the main spillway and it should hold up.

It also seems to me that there really isn't any need to repair the main spillway.  It has eroded down to bedrock, you can't break it anymore.  Shore up the north side near the power transmission towers and call it good, spend the money fixing and maintaining the emergency/auxiliary spillway.

From what I read they are now thinking it isn't as bad as they feared. Of course we have to hope that all the leevies downstream hold under the pressure.

Hope we don't get reports of looting people's homes in the evacuated areas.

I was listening to the scanner for a bit.  There was a report of looting at a business.  Everyone with a car has left.  The only people left are the elderly, the tweekers, and the cops. 

Seems like a pretty good opportunity for shenanigans and hijinks.

That worries me! I was thinking the same thing.
-Cherie

Glad it's looking better and hope everyone and families are all safe.  Hopefully not cut out enough to be leaking underneath. What I wouldn't give to go down into those newly cut channels under the emergency spillway with a metal detector once the water stops cresting!!

Yep! Along with a few pans to sift....

no water, no water, no water...  BAAM more water than you can handle all at once..

Monday Quarterback; but, how the hell can they have an emergency spillway with ZERO erosion protection?????
That entire area should have been concreted.
Was the main spillway just dirt....initially?
It absolutely floors me how paid engineers cannot use common sense.

Well, it looks like it is about influence and money:

http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/02/12/oroville-dam-feds-and-state-officials-ignored-warnings-12-years-ago/

Hearing there is a lot of looting going on now.

I was driving to work in Sutter county this morning and 12 Sac county sheriff cruisers passed me on hwy 70/99. They were heading north.

Probably heading up to lend a hand.

Glad it's looking better and hope everyone and families are all safe.  Hopefully not cut out enough to be leaking underneath. What I wouldn't give to go down into those newly cut channels under the emergency spillway with a metal detector once the water stops cresting!!

Yep! Along with a few pans to sift....

Don't give others ideas!  I don't want competition.