Dam in CA coming from together....

These dam and spillway thingies are obviously dangerous! They should be outlawed! Think of the children!
 
ircphoenix said:
Hoover dam has spillways through the bedrock. So in theory water wouldn't overtop it.
Click to expand...

The Hoover dam spillway tunnels also experienced severe erosion both times they were used, during the 1941 and 1983 floods, creating great angst among the engineering teams.


HooverDamSpillwayDamage1941.jpg


As did the Glen Canyon spillway tunnels.

GlenCanyonSpillway1983Color.jpg


Massive projects aren't easy.
 
ElPaso Pilot said:
The Hoover dam spillway tunnels also experienced severe erosion both times they were used, during the 1941 and 1983 floods, creating great angst among the engineering teams.


HooverDamSpillwayDamage1941.jpg


As did the Glen Canyon spillway tunnels.

GlenCanyonSpillway1983Color.jpg


Massive projects aren't easy.
Click to expand...

Hmmm, looks like they are using concrete when they should be using steel.
 
ElPaso Pilot said:
The Hoover dam spillway tunnels also experienced severe erosion both times they were used, during the 1941 and 1983 floods, creating great angst among the engineering teams.


HooverDamSpillwayDamage1941.jpg


As did the Glen Canyon spillway tunnels.

GlenCanyonSpillway1983Color.jpg


Massive projects aren't easy.
Click to expand...

No kidding.

It's surprisingly difficult to predict the peak hydrodynamic forces in a tube, even if it's straight.

The Hoover Dam spillway tunnels had been used for diversion during the construction of the dam. So, they were tested by flows, including some flooding. But there is a difference in scale when the lake is full AND it floods.
 
ircphoenix said:
Hoover dam has spillways through the bedrock. So in theory water wouldn't overtop it.

And in the case of Oroville, the auxiliary spillway would erode away, releasing a bunch of water. So the dam itself would be around for a long time with water going in a different direction.
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I found these:

114534-004-DF79024E.jpg



the-oroville-dam-spillway-stands-dry-at-lake-oroville-on-august-19-picture-id453834436



 
ElPaso Pilot said:
The Hoover dam spillway tunnels also experienced severe erosion both times they were used, during the 1941 and 1983 floods, creating great angst among the engineering teams.

As did the Glen Canyon spillway tunnels.

Massive projects aren't easy.
Click to expand...

My comment was more along the lines of what would happen in a world without us. The spillways I think would protect the main structure, even if nobody left the floodgates open. Which isn't to say that the surrounding area wouldn't be obliterated... but the structure would probably be fine for a lonnng time.
 
ircphoenix said:
My comment was more along the lines of what would happen in a world without us. The spillways I think would protect the main structure, even if nobody left the floodgates open. Which isn't to say that the surrounding area wouldn't be obliterated... but the structure would probably be fine for a lonnng time.
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In the late 80s, an engineer working for the local utility gave my dad and myself a tour of a small hydroelectric plant that had been shut down and abandoned in 10 years earlier. As they had left the bottom drain on the dam open, floods had caused some erosion and damage to the powerhouse, but it was far from destroyed. 10 years later, someone put the financing and tax incentives together to rebuild the plant and it has been back in operation since 2000.
 
PaulS said:
Even better, let California secede, then it is truly their problem.
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Don't hold your breath. I heard that only about a third of the people polled said they favored the idea.

(I was surprised that the number was that high. :loco:)
 
flhrci said:
No, no, no. Think of the adults first! Can always get replacement children later.
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Yep. Adults take a lot longer to produce and we have much more invested in them.

I am always amused by the angst created when a tragedy involves kids. Headlines and stories that read something like "20 people killed including 2 kids" as if the kids were somehow more important. Give me a freaking break.
 
SkyDog58 said:
Yep. Adults take a lot longer to produce and we have much more invested in them.

I am always amused by the angst created when a tragedy involves kids. Headlines and stories that read something like "20 people killed including 2 kids" as if the kids were somehow more important. Give me a freaking break.
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It's just the lost potential. And we are probably hardwired to care about kids. Survival of the species and all that...
 
SkyDog58 said:
I am always amused by the angst created when a tragedy involves kids. Headlines and stories that read something like "20 people killed including 2 kids" as if the kids were somehow more important. Give me a freaking break.
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Many adults get what's coming to them. Kids, well, most are innocent and haven't bothered anyone and don't deserve their fate. Especially sad are the ones who die at the hands of their parents or adult care givers.
 
Bill Jennings said:
Many adults get what's coming to them. Kids, well, most are innocent and haven't bothered anyone and don't deserve their fate. Especially sad are the ones who die at the hands of their parents or adult care givers.
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I was referring to a tragedy where numerous people are killed but the media makes special note if some of them were kids. You can see it all the time in coverage of plane crashes, train wrecks, natural disasters, etc. I'm not saying that they don't matter. I'm saying they do not matter more. Targeted acts of violence are a different subject.
 
SkyDog58 said:
Yep. Adults take a lot longer to produce and we have much more invested in them.

I am always amused by the angst created when a tragedy involves kids. Headlines and stories that read something like "20 people killed including 2 kids" as if the kids were somehow more important. Give me a freaking break.
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Honestly, I felt like you do until I had my own kid. I love that little guy more than I thought possible. So I think the attitude that harm to kids is a greater tragedy stems not so much from the fact that it is necessarily more of a tragedy as from the fact that as parents, the thought of the loss our own little ones is so great, and any harm to a child plays on that fear of loss our own children. In other words, our attitude is not altruistic; it is selfish.
 
SkyDog58 said:
Yep. Adults take a lot longer to produce and we have much more invested in them.

I am always amused by the angst created when a tragedy involves kids. Headlines and stories that read something like "20 people killed including 2 kids" as if the kids were somehow more important. Give me a freaking break.
Click to expand...
Wait till you have some children, you might understand.
 
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