A dam on an eastern Iowa lake suffered a "catastrophic" failure Saturday, sending a massive amount of water into nearby communities and forcing residents to flee, officials said.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/07/24/iowa.dam.breach/index.html?video=true&hpt=T2
Dams and bridges across the country are at the end of their lifespans, and there are no funds for repair or replacement... even if replacement was logistically feasible, which in many cases it's not. When these dams were built, the assumption was that somehow the future would figure it out. Instead, predictably, we just ignored them for 50 years and pretended they would last eternally.
A few more of these (inevitable) disasters, and the US will slide fully into its new 3rd-world status.
Dam risk tool.
http://www.fema.gov/library/viewRecord.do?id=3296
I think if the government can shrug off dozens of billions of dollars in damages, likely the it can do the same over any number of small towns and dams.
Oregon is trying to handle its massive dam deterioration problem by blowing them up, but there isn't funding for demolition, let alone the relocation of the people who live in the flood zone.
Of course, if we hadn't built the fucking things in the first place we wouldn't be having the salmon crisis we have... :lulz:
Quote from: Nigel on July 25, 2010, 03:50:29 PM
Oregon is trying to handle its massive dam deterioration problem by blowing them up, but there isn't funding for demolition, let alone the relocation of the people who live in the flood zone.
Of course, if we hadn't built the fucking things in the first place we wouldn't be having the salmon crisis we have... :lulz:
Can't that possibly clog rivers and streams?
I wish I could blow all my problems up. :(
dam
Quote from: Doktor Charley Brown on July 25, 2010, 03:53:15 PM
Quote from: Nigel on July 25, 2010, 03:50:29 PM
Oregon is trying to handle its massive dam deterioration problem by blowing them up, but there isn't funding for demolition, let alone the relocation of the people who live in the flood zone.
Of course, if we hadn't built the fucking things in the first place we wouldn't be having the salmon crisis we have... :lulz:
Can't that possibly clog rivers and streams?
Blowing up dams? Tends to UNclog rivers and streams... Also, the whole "OMG we have to "unclog" rivers and streams!" craze of the 70's and 80's was a raft of hogwash. Rivers and streams need to have debris in them in order to sustain a suitable environment for wildlife.
Quote from: Nigel on July 25, 2010, 06:24:16 PM
Quote from: Doktor Charley Brown on July 25, 2010, 03:53:15 PM
Quote from: Nigel on July 25, 2010, 03:50:29 PM
Oregon is trying to handle its massive dam deterioration problem by blowing them up, but there isn't funding for demolition, let alone the relocation of the people who live in the flood zone.
Of course, if we hadn't built the fucking things in the first place we wouldn't be having the salmon crisis we have... :lulz:
Can't that possibly clog rivers and streams?
Blowing up dams? Tends to UNclog rivers and streams... Also, the whole "OMG we have to "unclog" rivers and streams!" craze of the 70's and 80's was a raft of hogwash. Rivers and streams need to have debris in them in order to sustain a suitable environment for wildlife.
What about these guys?
http://www.mrsc.org/subjects/environment/esa/esa-intr.aspx?r=1
Quote from: Doktor Charley Brown on July 25, 2010, 06:28:38 PM
Quote from: Nigel on July 25, 2010, 06:24:16 PM
Quote from: Doktor Charley Brown on July 25, 2010, 03:53:15 PM
Quote from: Nigel on July 25, 2010, 03:50:29 PM
Oregon is trying to handle its massive dam deterioration problem by blowing them up, but there isn't funding for demolition, let alone the relocation of the people who live in the flood zone.
Of course, if we hadn't built the fucking things in the first place we wouldn't be having the salmon crisis we have... :lulz:
Can't that possibly clog rivers and streams?
Blowing up dams? Tends to UNclog rivers and streams... Also, the whole "OMG we have to "unclog" rivers and streams!" craze of the 70's and 80's was a raft of hogwash. Rivers and streams need to have debris in them in order to sustain a suitable environment for wildlife.
What about these guys?
http://www.mrsc.org/subjects/environment/esa/esa-intr.aspx?r=1
What about them?
How do they insure they aren't blowing them up?
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19952817/
Never mind. :D
Yes, that's what I was saying... Oregon's plan is to take care of the dam problem by demolishing them, but we lack sufficient funding so it's going really slowly. We have HUNDREDS of decaying, problematic dams slated for demolition, and so far we have the funding to remove about one per year. Obviously, something about this equation is not working in our favor.
Looks like they removed the debris for recycling as well.
Of course, it's only been very recently that the state has even openly admitted that the dams are the reason for the decrease in salmon population, and not overfishing, as they've insisted for decades despite all evidence to the contrary... which the salmon council has been really frustrated about.
Quote from: Doktor Charley Brown on July 25, 2010, 06:42:35 PM
Looks like they removed the debris for recycling as well.
Why wouldn't they? Usually when you demo something properly you don't just leave the rubble.
The demolition this past summer of the Marmot Dam on the Sandy River east of Portland came about because enviro-law changes meant massive future costs for the dam's owner, Portland General Electric. About eight years ago, a diverse crowd started kicking around ideas with the PGE execs. More than 20 interest groups weighed in, including the usual fervent water rats, as well as business types, politicians, and a lot of folks who couldn't find the Sandy River on a map but liked the idea of giving it and its resident salmon a new, sparkling, and dam-free existence.
The result was believed to be the biggest Oregon dam-demo job ever, making it easier for salmon to do what salmon do best, and a 1,500-acre land donation by PGE to the Western Rivers Conservancy. PGE also kicks in for restoring land and fish habitat. Thousands more acres went to the Bureau of Land Management to be used for recreational pastimes.
http://crosscut.com/2007/09/27/outdoors/7769/Life-after-the-demolition-of-a-dam-on-Oregon-s-Sandy-River/
Nice!
Yep. That was about four years ago and not much has happened since then.
Quote from: Doktor Charley Brown on July 25, 2010, 03:08:40 PM
A dam on an eastern Iowa lake suffered a "catastrophic" failure Saturday, sending a massive amount of water into nearby communities and forcing residents to flee, officials said.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/07/24/iowa.dam.breach/index.html?video=true&hpt=T2
Good thing we're taking care of the infrastructure.
Quote from: Doktor Howl on July 26, 2010, 02:05:55 AM
Quote from: Doktor Charley Brown on July 25, 2010, 03:08:40 PM
A dam on an eastern Iowa lake suffered a "catastrophic" failure Saturday, sending a massive amount of water into nearby communities and forcing residents to flee, officials said.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/07/24/iowa.dam.breach/index.html?video=true&hpt=T2
Good thing we're taking care of the infrastructure.
:lulz:
Silly Doktor, we have wars to fund.
I shudder to think what will happen when one of the dams go on the Mississippi. If it happens far enough north, it will belike a row of dominos falling down. Bye bye St. Louis!
Wait, that's not necessarily a bad thing there.....