(Remember the Oroville Dam fiasco?): Oroville Dam: Designer of failed spillway had almost no experience
Why am I bringing this up? Because this kind of bullshit is where our tax dollars are going. Even when work is done on OUR infrastructure, it’s done as cheaply as can be done. Funny thing though. There are always cost over-runs, ‘unanticipated’ delays, and problems that are found soon after construction is completed (like not building a locker room for the opposing team). That drive up the costs, but don’t make a bit of difference in regard to how shoddy and cheap the work is.
We are NOT getting our money’s worth. (And I am simply using California as an example.)
Take for example the Oroville Dam.
Oroville Dam: Designer of failed spillway had almost no experience
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The main concrete spillway at the 770-foot tall dam north of Sacramento, America’s tallest dam, was built in the late 1960s on top of poor quality rock. The spillway designer was fresh out of college with only two years experience and “had no prior experience professionally designing spillways,” the report noted . The spillway, only seven inches thick in some areas and not adequately anchored, cracked in multiple places in the following years, allowing water to flow underneath. On Feb. 7, 2017, water from powerful winter storms rushed under the massive spillway, which forced up its giant slabs and ripped a huge hole in the structure.
“The seriousness of the weak as-constructed conditions and lack of repair durability was not recognized during numerous inspections and review processes over the almost 50-year history of the project,” the 584-page report concluded.
The dam is owned by the California Department of Water Resources, which is responsible for its maintenance and inspections. Officials from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission also oversee inspections.
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The report notes that cracks in the huge concrete slabs on the main spillway began to appear in 1968 almost immediately after former Gov. Ronald Reagan christened the new dam, which had been a key project of his predecessor, Gov. Pat Brown. Water also was known to have seeped through those cracks and caused erosion under the spillway for years, the report said, but state officials did not see it as an emergency. Instead, they patched the cracks.“The slab cracking and underdrain flows, although originally thought of as unusual, were quickly deemed to be ‘normal,’ and as simply requiring on-going repairs,” the report said. “However, repeated repairs were ineffective and possibly detrimental.”
Over the years, water carved the foundation of the spillway, and corroded the metal rebar in the chute’s concrete, weakening it and leading to the failure.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/01/05/oroville-dam-new-report-details-w...
Now this is going to cost a pretty penny to fix. And like I said, Californians aren’t the only ones who will pay.
Oroville Dam: Who pays for spillway repairs?
So far, an estimate for repairs has reached $500 million, said Erin Mellon, communications and outreach adviser for the state Natural Resources Agency. The hope is that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will help pay for 75 percent of eligible emergency response and repairs, Mellon said.
The remainder of the costs, “once all is said and done, will be the contractors’ obligation,” said Jennifer Pierre, general manager of the State Water Contractors.https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.mercurynews.com/2017/05/30/oroville-dam...
Oroville Dam: Formerly classified memo describing spillway cracks now public
http://www.water.ca.gov/oroville-spillway/pdf/2017/20171102_DWR_TM_SRT-F...
That freaking dam was leaking for DECADES and state and federal officials knew it. Yet with typical bureaucratic disdain (and laziness), they just decided that repetitive cracking in a dam this size...
At 770 feet (235 m) high, it is the tallest dam in the U.S. and serves mainly for water supply, hydroelectricity generation and flood control. The dam impounds Lake Oroville, the second largest man-made lake in the state of California, capable of storing more than 3.5 million acre-feet (4.4 km3).
...was no big deal. To be expected. No reason for maintenance to try to stop the deterioration. Not to worry.
Oh well. Just water (and money a hungry or sick kid could use) over the dam, I guess. And just for shits and giggles, here’s some more good news:
Oroville Dam: Three dams in Santa Clara County have similar spillway problems
https://www.mercurynews.com/2017/12/21/oroville-dam-three-dams-in-santa-...
And another small point. This is our INFRASTRUCTURE. And it’s not just the dams. It’s pretty much everything. Roads, bridges, highways, everything.
What’s a guy gonna do? Hey! I know! Give the wealthiest parasites in this country a tax break. That oughta do it!!!
So have those taxes paid up on time girls and boys. We have dams to repair.
I wionder, will that be before or after we pay for a wall.
NOTE: Yeah, I’m all over the place here. But I combined into one rant three things that are pissing me off tonight. Our crappy infrastructure, shoddy and cheap work paid for with tax-payer dollars, and the Pubbies new tax cut legislation.
Comments
Pete! There's something about
Gabriel. My gf back in '75, a 24 year old former HS homecoming queen who still had the looks, said she would "do" peter in a NY second. And I knew she wasn't alone. Having seen the guy in concert many times it never gets old. I always pictured him, even back in his (and my) younger days, as the piano player in a piano bar in a four star hotel in NY or Chicago. Just him in a dark lit corner at the piano. Telling stories between tunes. I could sit there all night. Some guy at the bar... "your voice sounds familiar. Weren't you once Peter Gabriel... "
the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.
I truly love Peter Gabriel. His songs are
Relateable.
He’s all over the map. Such sadness in a poor woman’s mental illness Mercy Street. A celebtration of women’s progress - Shakin’ the Tree The universal) struggle -to survive - Don’t give Up. The history changing courage of one man -Biko.
Plus he is aging well.
EDIT: typo
I'm tired of this back-slapping "Isn't humanity neat?" bullshit. We're a virus with shoes, okay? That's all we are. - Bill Hicks
Politics is the entertainment branch of industry. - Frank Zappa
Yep, I've always had
a crush on him, even though I've only heard him on the radio.
He has such passionate, romantic songs (and I don't usually care about romantic-ness).
dfarrah
He doesn't tour much
these days, , and he no longer hangs from the rafters of the stage set, or crowd surf, but if you ever get the chance to catch his Live show spend the $175 for a pair of tix and go! You won't regret.
the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.
I don't blame the designer.
Who better to blame than someone fresh?
Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.
Let the great culling begin
Will we be seeing more of this type of event after the republicans gut Medicare and Medicaid? The PTB have been attacking us since at least Reagan's presidency and after the economic crisis we saw the banks get bailed out while main stream Americans were left to fend for themselves. Bush cut taxes on the rich and then Obama made them permanent. Now the republicans cut taxes again and we know they are coming for the social programs. The class war is an all out assault and who knows how far they are willing to take it?
Mayo to give preference to privately insured patients over Medicaid patients
Pushback on Medicaid, Medicare part of a trend.
Prioritize people who have better insurance. Sorry grandma who has to rely on Medicaid, your life isn't worth as much as this person.
How long until the caseworkers call the poor grandma who has the 4 months out appointment and tell her that it's now going to be 6 months before the clinic can see her? Hopefully her condition isn't very painful.
Anyone else bothered by this? What other areas might we see this type of event happening? Grayson told us that the republican plan for health insurance is for us to get sick and die. The sooner the better, right? Quick.... get on the phone and tell everyone that they need to vote for the democrats so we can pass Medicare for all. s/ ?
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.
~Hannah Arendt
Your /s
is underrated.
The newest tax fiasco will be conveniently overlooked and made permanent by the next demoncratic president.
Game on.
Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.
Yeah, I'm afraid that you are right
Heavy sigh. This is not going to end unless we find a way to end it. And I don't see that happening until the rest of the country wakes up and sees what is really happening.
Apologies Amanda for hijacking your essay.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.
~Hannah Arendt
Grand theft auto-pay will continue until further notice.
My husband was an architect. He practiced when the firm was a big one for school renovation (windows, insulation, roofs) and the occasional new construction throughout the northeast. He was Project Architect (overseer) for a new HS on Long Island. Low bid situation, of course. The winner was a company with Connections. Mafia. There were numerous battles about cost overruns and change orders. My husband was always paranoid. This put him over the top. I would get lectures about what to do if he died suddenly. Fun times. He died much later.
Upstate NY has water running through glaciated terrain. Creeks have cut deep into the hills so bridges are all over. Many are single-lane. Not covered, but with a steel mesh surface to ameliorate snow accumulation. Steel + salt means many are now deficient in loading capacity. So entire bridge decks get replaced or in some cases abandoned. [both are in evidence here]. There is discussion about re-decking one of those near me, or making it a 2-lane bridge or somesuch. Highway superintendants go to traffic school here (it's an elected position) and I suspect all they are taught is 'traffic calming' now. I have no problem with one-lane bridges, I know the rules of politesse.
Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.
You didn’t hijack my thread. You just illustrared another way
that we are being screwed. A different, more personalized kind of way. But it’s the same method of operation.
There only needs to be one standardized Notification of Rejection for Funding form to cover the situation. It can be adapted for federal or state purposes.
Hope you’re doing well on this chilly Sunday morning. We’re going to have a heat wave today. It’s supposed to get up to 30• today. Stay warm!
I'm tired of this back-slapping "Isn't humanity neat?" bullshit. We're a virus with shoes, okay? That's all we are. - Bill Hicks
Politics is the entertainment branch of industry. - Frank Zappa
Organize, or else.
A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.
@snoopydawg
They will go as far as they can get away with, that is why we are at the crossroads where we either finally put a stop to it or we enter some dystopia until things get to the point its so bad it just blows up in revolt.
If we are lucky we have a 6 year window but Trump is moving so fast we may only have 2, so if Bernie runs again everyone better do everything they can it could be a last shot.
RE: Trump
A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.
It is not just the Republicans
when it comes to the hollowing out of our country. This is the end game of neoliberalism. The United States is rapidly becoming a verifiable third world country with record inequality, the impoverishment of the middle class, and the pillaging of the commons.
Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy