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Aging Oroville Dam Spillway Gates Draw Concern
/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /Enterprise-Record (Chico, Calif.)by Robin EpleyDespite increased maintenance of Oroville Dam since the spillway fell apart in February 2017, members of the community-led Oroville Dam Ad Hoc Group have expressed concern about the age and wear of mechanics within the spillway’s main gates, citing similar failures on dams of the same era.
The Department of Water Resources convened a meeting Nov. 13 of the Oroville Dam Ad Hoc Group — an organization comprised of local elected officials and stakeholders appointed by state Sen. Jim Nielsen (R-Tehama) and Assemblyman James Gallagher (R-Yuba City) — as part of the Oroville Dam Safety Comprehensive Needs Assessment that was initiated by the DWR after the spillway crumbled.
Dam Spillway Near SLO County Has Significant Cracks, Is ‘Unsafe For Use,’ State Says
/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /The Tribune by Monica VaughanRemember when the concrete spillway of the nation’s tallest dam developed a giant hole, and downstream communities were evacuated out of fear that a wall of water would charge down the river?
It turns out that the same structural problems that caused the failure at Oroville Dam in February 2017 also exist at the spillway of San Antonio Dam, just two miles north of Lake Nacimiento and above the community of Bradley.
Those problems have been known “for quite sometime,” according to the current manager of the dam operator. But the state didn’t take notice or downgrade the dam’s safety condition until after it revamped its oversight process following the massive failure in Northern California.