So my uncle informs me

[Left]

BTW, my city also has a dam in imminent need of repair.
http://www.swg.usace.army.mil/Missions/DamSafetyProgram.aspx

Any dam safety issues at Addicks and Barker could have a far greater impact due to the magnitude of people and property downstream, as opposed to other dams around the country in rural or low-population density areas.

...Texas is rather prone to catastrophic weather events.
Then again, so is the Pacific coast, right?

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

BTW, my city also has a dam in imminent need of repair.
http://www.swg.usace.army.mil/Missions/DamSafetyProgram.aspx

Any dam safety issues at Addicks and Barker could have a far greater impact due to the magnitude of people and property downstream, as opposed to other dams around the country in rural or low-population density areas.

...Texas is rather prone to catastrophic weather events.
Then again, so is the Pacific coast, right?

I would be surprised if it didn't, given that most dams were build around 50 years ago and the lifespan for a dam is about 50 years.

The Pacific Coast is, perhaps oddly, not prone to catastrophic weather events at all. In fact, it is downright motherfucking placid. It is, however, prone to the occasional high winds, earthquake, volcano, or tsunami.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Fun fact about dams: while they may be "in need of repair", they are rarely "repairable", due to not having a technology that repairs decaying concrete underwater. Or above water.

[The Johnny]

It's kind of ironic.

In so much Americana there used to be the plot about how the bad guys wanted to blow up a dam to drown a city; now you don't need a bad guy to blow it up, it breaks down on it's own.

[The Johnny]

Here you go:

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BigDamPlot

[Doktor Howl]

Fun fact about dams: while they may be "in need of repair", they are rarely "repairable", due to not having a technology that repairs decaying concrete underwater. Or above water.

The only way to do it is to build a second dam and then remove the first one.  It's fucking EXPENSIVE.

But it's also necessary.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Fun fact about dams: while they may be "in need of repair", they are rarely "repairable", due to not having a technology that repairs decaying concrete underwater. Or above water.

The only way to do it is to build a second dam and then remove the first one.  It's fucking EXPENSIVE.

But it's also necessary.

In most cases, the dams aren't even providing any value and can simply be demolished, providing the downstream populations aren't at risk of flooding. Which often they are.

[Doktor Howl]

Fun fact about dams: while they may be "in need of repair", they are rarely "repairable", due to not having a technology that repairs decaying concrete underwater. Or above water.

The only way to do it is to build a second dam and then remove the first one.  It's fucking EXPENSIVE.

But it's also necessary.

In most cases, the dams aren't even providing any value and can simply be demolished, providing the downstream populations aren't at risk of flooding. Which often they are.

I didn't know that.  I assumed that most were hydro-electric.

[Left]

Fun fact about dams: while they may be "in need of repair", they are rarely "repairable", due to not having a technology that repairs decaying concrete underwater. Or above water.

Some are earthen dams, like the barker-cypress one.
But yeah, point taken...

The only way to do it is to build a second dam and then remove the first one.  It's fucking EXPENSIVE.

But it's also necessary.

So basically, rebuild a dam, then demolish the existing one.
...Think I will let my subconscious churn that around, it seems like there ought to be a way to do it differently.
...No, I'm not sure how, but if I tell my subconscious to work on it, sooner or later something bizarre and possibly useful will pop out.   

There's not a lot of hydroelectric dams here-waterflow's too variant.
But there are in Nigel's neck of the woods.
I'd guess the majority of dams are for ensuring a water supply and for flood prevention.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Fun fact about dams: while they may be "in need of repair", they are rarely "repairable", due to not having a technology that repairs decaying concrete underwater. Or above water.

The only way to do it is to build a second dam and then remove the first one.  It's fucking EXPENSIVE.

But it's also necessary.

In most cases, the dams aren't even providing any value and can simply be demolished, providing the downstream populations aren't at risk of flooding. Which often they are.

I didn't know that.  I assumed that most were hydro-electric.

Nope. I think here are about 2000 hydroelectric dams in the US, out of about 75,000. Most of them are about "water control", ie. people being monkeys about something.

[Doktor Howl]

Fun fact about dams: while they may be "in need of repair", they are rarely "repairable", due to not having a technology that repairs decaying concrete underwater. Or above water.

The only way to do it is to build a second dam and then remove the first one.  It's fucking EXPENSIVE.

But it's also necessary.

In most cases, the dams aren't even providing any value and can simply be demolished, providing the downstream populations aren't at risk of flooding. Which often they are.

I didn't know that.  I assumed that most were hydro-electric.

Nope. I think here are about 2000 hydroelectric dams in the US, out of about 75,000. Most of them are about "water control", ie. people being monkeys about something.

Well, nobody better steal my Goddamn water, that's all I'm saying.

[Anna Mae Bollocks]

BTW, my city also has a dam in imminent need of repair.
http://www.swg.usace.army.mil/Missions/DamSafetyProgram.aspx

Any dam safety issues at Addicks and Barker could have a far greater impact due to the magnitude of people and property downstream, as opposed to other dams around the country in rural or low-population density areas.

...Texas is rather prone to catastrophic weather events.
Then again, so is the Pacific coast, right?

I would be surprised if it didn't, given that most dams were build around 50 years ago and the lifespan for a dam is about 50 years.

The Pacific Coast is, perhaps oddly, not prone to catastrophic weather events at all. In fact, it is downright motherfucking placid. It is, however, prone to the occasional high winds, earthquake, volcano, or tsunami.

Even the rain is different there, it's SOFT. I couldn't believe the flowers that grow there.

Ours comes down like a cow pissing on a flat rock with flash floods and power outages and wind knocking down trees and lightning hitting all kinds of shit. Then the sun comes out, the steam rises from the cement and no more rain until winter, hot hot hot everything dies.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Fun fact about dams: while they may be "in need of repair", they are rarely "repairable", due to not having a technology that repairs decaying concrete underwater. Or above water.

The only way to do it is to build a second dam and then remove the first one.  It's fucking EXPENSIVE.

But it's also necessary.

In most cases, the dams aren't even providing any value and can simply be demolished, providing the downstream populations aren't at risk of flooding. Which often they are.

I didn't know that.  I assumed that most were hydro-electric.

Nope. I think here are about 2000 hydroelectric dams in the US, out of about 75,000. Most of them are about "water control", ie. people being monkeys about something.

Well, nobody better steal my Goddamn water, that's all I'm saying.

Exactly. 

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

BTW, my city also has a dam in imminent need of repair.
http://www.swg.usace.army.mil/Missions/DamSafetyProgram.aspx

Any dam safety issues at Addicks and Barker could have a far greater impact due to the magnitude of people and property downstream, as opposed to other dams around the country in rural or low-population density areas.

...Texas is rather prone to catastrophic weather events.
Then again, so is the Pacific coast, right?

I would be surprised if it didn't, given that most dams were build around 50 years ago and the lifespan for a dam is about 50 years.

The Pacific Coast is, perhaps oddly, not prone to catastrophic weather events at all. In fact, it is downright motherfucking placid. It is, however, prone to the occasional high winds, earthquake, volcano, or tsunami.

Even the rain is different there, it's SOFT. I couldn't believe the flowers that grow there.

Ours comes down like a cow pissing on a flat rock with flash floods and power outages and wind knocking down trees and lightning hitting all kinds of shit. Then the sun comes out, the steam rises from the cement and no more rain until winter, hot hot hot everything dies.

The thing that's amazing is that people LIVE THERE. Why?

See, if I designed a species, they just wouldn't bother living places that suck. They've leave Texas to the rattlesnakes and whatever other deadly things like to live in deserts.

[Anna Mae Bollocks]

BTW, my city also has a dam in imminent need of repair.
http://www.swg.usace.army.mil/Missions/DamSafetyProgram.aspx

Any dam safety issues at Addicks and Barker could have a far greater impact due to the magnitude of people and property downstream, as opposed to other dams around the country in rural or low-population density areas.

...Texas is rather prone to catastrophic weather events.
Then again, so is the Pacific coast, right?

I would be surprised if it didn't, given that most dams were build around 50 years ago and the lifespan for a dam is about 50 years.

The Pacific Coast is, perhaps oddly, not prone to catastrophic weather events at all. In fact, it is downright motherfucking placid. It is, however, prone to the occasional high winds, earthquake, volcano, or tsunami.

Even the rain is different there, it's SOFT. I couldn't believe the flowers that grow there.

Ours comes down like a cow pissing on a flat rock with flash floods and power outages and wind knocking down trees and lightning hitting all kinds of shit. Then the sun comes out, the steam rises from the cement and no more rain until winter, hot hot hot everything dies.

The thing that's amazing is that people LIVE THERE. Why?

See, if I designed a species, they just wouldn't bother living places that suck. They've leave Texas to the rattlesnakes and whatever other deadly things like to live in deserts.

My Darwin money is on the fire ants for now, but we might have a new contender.

I do tend to see a lot more population density in places that are semi-habitable, like the east coast. The Pacific coast is really nice too, not sure why it's not packed there.