When the levee breaks....Lake Oroville dam in trouble.

[HALLETT BOY]

I was surprised the water flow didn't turn them sidways and roll them under like the first boat when they first hit the bridge.

They don't build houseboats like that anymore !

 

[Her454]

yea that is a bad deal there at Wimpy's but frankly I am not sure how many options they had. I drove by on Sunday and was looking at the excavators and all after the event. There was no land up north to pull from to get the boats off the bridge. I can sure as hell tell you I would not get on one of those boats and try to start it and drive it off the bridge, assuming you even have the keys and such because hotwiring it would take even longer on the boat and this also assumes that it runs (many houseboats at docks like that don't). The third option mentioned was a tug, if you are familiar with the area, Where are you going to get one and then how in the world are you going to get it over to the correct side of the bridge? You need to remember that access to many locations are restricted by high water / bridges and such. Besides, running a tug under those conditions is not for feint of heart, that water was treacherous and moving fast......

I am not trying to defend what they did, just say that options were limited and complex. They chose the safest, easiest, and fastest, not necessarily the best.

I totally understand why it was done. And that water is moving alot faster than it seems in the video. Even under normal circumstances it's really swift through that area so I couldn't imagine trying to get those boats away from the bridge with anything but a tug... and even then like you said.. basically time was of the essence but it sure was hard to watch them trash that boat. [emoji30]

 

[Flyinbowtie]

They just finished a noon presser.

The DWR Director needs a press officer.
He isn't a skilled public speaker, to be kind about it. He stated that things continue to go well, and that, based on the hydro reports on the incoming weather he does not think they will lose any ground on the effort to lower the lake to 850. They are talking about slowing the output of the spillway at some point, he tried to explain the reasoning, but did a lousy job of it. I do know that at some point the lake level drops below the spillway entrance, that may be what he was saying.
They do have heavy equipment at the base of the dam working to clear the debris at the powerhouse outlets.
They also have built a road into the river canyon that will allow for a large boom crane to access the debris pile that is now deposited at the base of the concrete spillway, it appears they want to get some of that out of there before activating the powerhouse again, which would make sense as the water from the powerhouse has to pass through the base of the spillway.
The concrete boom trucks are cranking away and the helos are flying bags o rocks, the 60's have been joined by an Air Crane, and they are moving a lot f weight into the area of the emergency spillway.and PG&E is flying guys onto the power line towers doing stuff as well.
Butte County Sheriff was asked about looting, they have no reports of mass looters, which is a good deal. There were reports of burglaries, and a couple of his deputies caught some turds in the act, which is a glorious thing. 150 National Guardsmen have been been placed at his disposal. He is staying very frosty on this whole deal.
It has stated to sprinkle a bit this morning, I hope they are able to get a full days work in up there.

 

[500bbc]

They just finished a noon presser.

The DWR Director needs a press officer.
He isn't a skilled public speaker, to be kind about it. He stated that things continue to go well, and that, based on the hydro reports on the incoming weather he does not think they will lose any ground on the effort to lower the lake to 850. They are talking about slowing the output of the spillway at some point, he tried to explain the reasoning, but did a lousy job of it. I do know that at some point the lake level drops below the spillway entrance, that may be what he was saying.
They do have heavy equipment at the base of the dam working to clear the debris at the powerhouse outlets.
They also have built a road into the river canyon that will allow for a large boom crane to access the debris pile that is now deposited at the base of the concrete spillway, it appears they want to get some of that out of there before activating the powerhouse again, which would make sense as the water from the powerhouse has to pass through the base of the spillway.
The concrete boom trucks are cranking away and the helos are flying bags o rocks, the 60's have been joined by an Air Crane, and they are moving a lot f weight into the area of the emergency spillway.and PG&E is flying guys onto the power line towers doing stuff as well.
Butte County Sheriff was asked about looting, they have no reports of mass looters, which is a good deal. There were reports of burglaries, and a couple of his deputies caught some turds in the act, which is a glorious thing. 150 National Guardsmen have been been placed at his disposal. He is staying very frosty on this whole deal.
It has stated to sprinkle a bit this morning, I hope they are able to get a full days work in up there.

You need to be the go to news source for every outlet nationwide on the this.
The radio and TV coverage I've watched doesn't even approach RDP much less the inimitable FBT.

Great job sir!:thumbsup

 

[Flying_Lavey]

You need to be the go to news source for every outlet nationwide on the this.
The radio and TV coverage I've watched doesn't even approach RDP much less the inimitable FBT.

Great job sir!:thumbsup

X2. Nowhere has as many and as complete of a collection of the information on the dam as RDP. And nobody I've seen has known more than FBT.

 

[Mandelon]

X2. Nowhere has as many and as complete of a collection of the information on the dam as RDP. And nobody I've seen has known more than FBT.

I agree. The news articles I have read are full of mistakes and incorrect statements. Pretty sad.

 

[buck35]

Yes yesterday some guy from the district said on the news that the lake held 3.5 million gallons of water...
I know he meant acre feet , but to many, while that may seem like a lot of water its a drop in the bucket of what is there.

 

[BajaT]

Came across these...

 

[Justfishing]

They said the inflows from the coming flow should be around 100k cfs. Matching curent output.

 

[500bbc]

X2. Nowhere has as many and as complete of a collection of the information on the dam as RDP. And nobody I've seen has known more than FBT.

One page on this thread blows them all out of the water.
Watching TV with the wife and I'm saying that guy's an idiot this is what is really happening, she says how the hell do you know?

RDP that's how!:thumbsup

 

[Old Texan]

They said the inflows from the coming flow should be around 100k cfs. Matching curent output.

Link or chart? That seems pretty high

 

[Flyinbowtie]

Link or chart? That seems pretty high

At noon I heard the DWR guy say that the anticipated inflows from the inbound storms will not cause them to lose ground on the lake level. With 100k going out they could take 100k in and not lose ground. 100k is not high when you look at the historical data for the this facility during wet years. The drainage for the forks of the Feather River is substantial, and even with snow returning to the picture the ground is saturated below the snow levels.

 

[SBMech]

At noon I heard the DWR guy say that the anticipated inflows from the inbound storms will not cause them to lose ground on the lake level. With 100k going out they could take 100k in and not lose ground. 100k is not high when you look at the historical data for the this facility during wet years. The drainage for the forks of the Feather River is substantial, and even with snow returning to the picture the ground is saturated below the snow levels.

I thought I read that they had 190k coming in last storm.

This one was supposed to be a heavier storm?

Lets hope they are guessing right. :thumbup:

 

[Flyinbowtie]

I thought I read that they had 190k coming in last storm.

This one was supposed to be a heavier storm?

Lets hope they are guessing right. :thumbup:

not as much precip coming. See #938

 

[SBMech]

not as much precip coming. See #938

Do you know how they can gauge the amount each storm carries? That is some crazy science..I thought clouds were constantly changing as they gained or lost altitude, entered new regions, absorbed other weather fronts...

 

[Flying_Lavey]

Do you know how they can gauge the amount each storm carries? That is some crazy science..I thought clouds were constantly changing as they gained or lost altitude, entered new regions, absorbed other weather fronts...

It's all Psychrometrics. It's how temperatures, humidity, dew points, amount of water per pound of air, etc... all interact with each other.

 

[TX Foilhead]

Do you know how they can gauge the amount each storm carries? That is some crazy science..I thought clouds were constantly changing as they gained or lost altitude, entered new regions, absorbed other weather fronts...

They've got a lot more people working on it than the TV guys because there's a lot more at stake when they wrong.

From watching this from the inside of over the years they tend to over estimate what could happen to be on the safe side. It's better to prepare for the worst and have it not happen or end up 1 ridge over than to have a flood you aren't ready for.

 

[napanutt]

It's all Psychrometrics. It's how temperatures, humidity, dew points, amount of water per pound of air, etc... all interact with each other.

Quit it. Sounds all quantum physics and shit. [emoji51]
If you're serious I apologize. [emoji2]

 

[Carlson-jet]

Quit it. Sounds all quantum physics and shit. [emoji51]
If you're serious I apologize. [emoji2]

Predicting the future weather is not Quantum Physics. Quantum Physics has a definitive outcome that can be predicted. MMCC and Weather do not fall into this category.

 

[buck35]

It looks like they have for the least , bought themselves a couple or few days, depending on how bad this storm is. Current level is around 874. Hopefully they can get to 50 feet down in the near future so they can reduce flow and ease the burden downstream. This thread has been so captivating to me even though I'm far away to the north , as I live on a pool myself.
stay safe and prayers to all!

 

[Pelon]

The expected 7 day accumulated precipitation puts the Bulls eye right over the Oroville watershed!

 

[Flying_Lavey]

Quit it. Sounds all quantum physics and shit. [emoji51]
If you're serious I apologize. [emoji2]

I was. But your response is funny. I got a good chuckle.

Psychrometric chart:
http://cloud.tapatalk.com/s/58a53095222e5/chart1.gif

 

[Carlson-jet]

They better step it up to the 250k CFPS that was claimed this Reservoir can dissipate to get it back to 50% capacity it was designed to hold AFTER the the perceived precipitation.

 

[napanutt]

Predicting the future weather is not Quantum Physics. Quantum Physics has a definitive outcome that can be predicted. MMCC and Weather do not fall into this category.

We'll get down Mr. Jet. [emoji51]
My wife is taking math and chemistry at our local community college.
Might have to run this by her and see if it relates to what she's studying.

 

[Flying_Lavey]

They better step it up to the 250k CFPS that was claimed this Reservoir can dissipate to get it back to 50% capacity it was designed to hold AFTER the the perceived precipitation.

That's what the spillway is capable of. Not the river structure below the dam. I've read it's only capable of 160k. That's without factoring in the other water sources that feed into the different tributaries.

 

[Yellowboat]

i just got off the phone with my mom who lives in sac and has many friends that were evacted. the local news is reporting that there are scammers now calling people saying you either did not get out in time, or because you went to the evac center you have to pay a fee...


I would not lose one wink of sleep if I was to use their bodies to fix the damn. fucking scum.

 

[hallett21]

Has something changed? Seeing people posting on facebook to get out now

 

[RitcheyRch]

Not good if something dramatic changed. Maybe preparation for the massive amount of rain expected to fall.

Has something changed? Seeing people posting on facebook to get out now

 

[Taboma]

Has something changed? Seeing people posting on facebook to get out now

Facebook --- can you narrow that down just a smidge ? I'm asking since I do have relatives who were previously evacuated and have since returned.

 

[hallett21]

Facebook --- can you narrow that down just a smidge ? I'm asking since I do have relatives who were previously evacuated and have since returned.

Looks like people that want to be able to say they said something before it was "too late".

Just looking for a more reliable update. Didn't know if something drastic had happened since last night

 

[RCDave]

This is the latest I can find. Updated this morning.

http://www.actionnewsnow.com/story/...-update-latest-on-heavy-rain-the-oroville-dam

 

[Deja_Vu]

LA Times update on repairs

http://www.latimes.com/projects/la-me-oroville-flooding/

Shows a video of helicopter carrying loads of rock and a pic explaining the ongoing effort.

 

[Flyinbowtie]

As I said earlier, don't let people impacted by this believe the bullshit.
There is a ton of bullshit being spread on facebook and elsewhere. The work continues at the dam, and there are no evacs underway or in the mix.
People in the area who are concerned need to stay informed by legit sources that should be obvious to all. If you have folks involved try to steer them in the right direction for valid information. These folks don't need to hear doomsday predictions by uninformed bullshit artists on social media, of which there are a ton.
The weather is indeed coming in, but the weather scientists don't think this series of storms is going to put the lake back at a level where the emergency spillway is in the picture. The snow levels and the timing of the precip events, coupled with the amount of precip that is anticipated don't add up to that scenario.

Yep, it is gonna rain, and there will be snow over the pass. My son and his family may be staying with us Friday night because 80 is probably going to close due to snow and accidents. Seeing our son and grandson and daughter in law is fine with us, LOL.

By Monday the weather MAY reach a point where the Delta sees some flooding again, and there may be some Levee's that become a risk. The people that live there know the drill. The Levee system has been in need of a major infusion of $$ for 20 years, just like the rest of the infrastructure in this state.
However, the lake levels and continuous release of 100k CFS from Oroville is anticipated to keep the lake dropping, or, at worst, staying static. It is down 27 ft. right now, so even f they lose a few ft. they have a margin to work in....

I have heard from some folks who are on sight involved in the actual repair process. They described this as "well controlled chaos", with helicopters, bulldozer, concrete trucks, rock dump trucks, concrete boom pumps, and people everywhere.
So the work is ongoing, and apparently with a sense of urgency, or at least purpose.

They cannot dump 250k CFS down the Oroville spillway because the river system downstream also has to handle releases from other facilities on the Sacramento. The choke point is the river, they know what it can handle and while Oroville is obviously a priority right now they can't just shut down everything else that shares the Sacramento River...let alone the damage to the spillway and the debris field at its base. Furthermore, the spillway has a theoretical capacity of 250, but it has never been run at that...

That LA Times pic and explanation is the best I have seen in awhile. Actually accurate, other than "concrete wall" is the Emergency Spillway" it is good...

 

[MissB]

I must say, while looking for information on this situation, this thread has been the best source I've found.
I do have one question: why concrete? Isn't there a time frame for concrete to cure? Are they just throwing where ever in there and hoping it sticks before they get this next storm?

 

[Ziggy]

I must say, while looking for information on this situation, this thread has been the best source I've found.
I do have one question: why concrete? Isn't there a time frame for concrete to cure? Are they just throwing where ever in there and hoping it sticks before they get this next storm?

The right amount of chemicals mixed in will cure it in a matter of hours and not days.

 

[Flyinbowtie]

DWR has just stated that they have cut releases to 95k and plan some more incremental release reductions as they get equipment in place to get serious about working on removing the debris pile at the base of the spillway in the river. This, to my way of thinking, means they have the room to deal with it as well as the problems at the lake.
A good thing.

I am not on facebook, but my wife is. he amount of misinformation out there, intentional or otherwise, is sad.

 

[4Waters]

The right amount of chemicals mixed in will cure it in a matter of hours and not days.

City mix is hard in 2.5 - 3hrs I used to drive a ready mix truck ask me how I know.

 

[wsuwrhr]

City mix is hard in 2.5 - 3hrs I used to drive a ready mix truck ask me how I know.

That sounds like a bad day.

 

[Waterjunky]

I am not on facebook, but my wife is. he amount of misinformation out there, intentional or otherwise, is sad.

One of many reasons why the wife and I are not on Facebook........

 

[BeerMaker]

City mix is hard in 2.5 - 3hrs I used to drive a ready mix truck ask me how I know.

key words "used to" lol:eek

 

[Flying_Lavey]

One of many reasons why the wife and I are not on Facebook........

Yeah, my life has been a lot happier since I got rid of Facebook. Too much drama and bullshit surrounding it and too many people put too much importance on what is said on FB. So... fuck that place.

 

[GRADS]

Look what it looks like down stream.:eek This is where the American meets the Sacramento river just north of Sacramento. Look at the docks at Discovery Park...they look like they are in the middle of a lake. And before you cry babies say "I don't have Facebook", you don't need to, just click the link. Make sure and click HD under settings.

https://www.facebook.com/kellyhuston/posts/10154330639482503

 

[wsuwrhr]

Yeah, my life has been a lot happier since I got rid of Facebook. Too much drama and bullshit surrounding it and too many people put too much importance on what is said on FB. So... fuck that place.

Maybe you were one of them giving it too much importance?

Just sayin....

 

[h2o225]

Flynbowtie is right. Do not believe all the bs being thrown out. I'm up here working they working through the chaos.

 

[Flying_Lavey]

Maybe you were one of them giving it too much importance?

Just sayin....

No. Quiet the opposite. I could really careless. But some friends at the time and a few ex's did and made it difficult on me. Now when someone says "so and so said this and that about XYZ..." I say.... "I don't have Facebook so it doesn't matter to me."

 

[rivermobster]

Flynbowtie is right. Do not believe all the bs being thrown out. I'm up here working they working through the chaos.

Stay safe buddy. 👍👍

 

[4Waters]

That sounds like a bad day.

5.5 yards went off in my truck because the crew was not ready when they called for the truck I didn't work for 4 days waiting for the chippers to come out and chip the truck is was pissed. The crew asked me "are you going to get in trouble" I said in a calm but serious voice "no I just don't work until my truck gets chipped guess my wife and kids don't get to eat this week thanks guys sign here".

 

[Old Texan]

Look what it looks like down stream.:eek This is where the American meets the Sacramento river just north of Sacramento. Look at the docks at Discovery Park...they look like they are in the middle of a lake. And before you cry babies say "I don't have Facebook", you don't need to, just click the link. Make sure and click HD under settings.

https://www.facebook.com/kellyhuston/posts/10154330639482503

View attachment 539578

Hopefully that is as bad as it will get. But likely not with spring thaw coming. Even if it doesn't get worse, it will probably stay that way for weeks if not months.

 

[wsuwrhr]

5.5 yards went off in my truck because the crew was not ready when they called for the truck I didn't work for 4 days waiting for the chippers to come out and chip the truck is was pissed. The crew asked me "are you going to get in trouble" I said in a calm but serious voice "no I just don't work until my truck gets chipped guess my wife and kids don't get to eat this week thanks guys sign here".

Damn. Dump that shit on the ground.

 

[4Waters]

Damn. Dump that shit on the ground.

It was at the intersection of spring and 3rd in downtown Los Angeles.