Pics Of Failed Iowa Dam, And Downstream Results

[WillyT]

Water from the Maquoketa River surges through the Delhi Dam as it collapses under the strain of heavy rains
on Saturday, July 24. People downstream were being evacuated as boats, propane tanks and buildings were
pushed along by the rushing water. (Julie Koehn / EPA)


Water pouring over the dam flows in and then out of the windows of the historic
Independence Mill in downtown Independence, Iowa. (Rick Chase / Waterloo Couier via AP)


Bystanders watch the water rise in downtown Manchester, Iowa, due to heavy rainfall. (Mike Burley / Telegraph Herald via AP)

Link: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38395404/ns/weather/

:wow:

:scared:

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. The water going through the building!

Shit, that is scary stuff...

What a dramatic pic!

Thanks for posting, I think...:scared:

[lib2DaBone]

2. OMG .. Thanks for Pics. We have millions of unemployed workers who could have been there to help.

..Yet we gave $700 Billion to the Banks with no checks or balance.. no stings...

I am so sad.... the American People keep getting the Shaft from their government...they suffer the consequences... not the Fat Cats in Washington...

[CoffeeCat]

3. Weather in Iowa has been CRAZY lately...

I live in Iowa, and there has been so much rain!

In the southern part of the state, many areas rec'd 10 inches of rain in one night. As if that
wasn't enough, heavy rains have moved through that area again--dumping 2-3 inches of rain.

I'm in central Iowa, and we live close to Saylorville Dam, which keeps water from inundating
Des Moines. In 1993, we had a historic flood where the water reached 893 feet above sea
level. The water flowed over the emergency spillway and we were told this was a "500 year
event." Well...the water, again, flowed over the emergency spillway in 2008. And it just
happened again this year--in June 2010. The water level went down in late June
and July--but now it is rising again.

As of now, the water level is at about 873 and rising. The water will flow over the
emergency spillway at 882 feet. That's lower than usual. When the water went over
the emergency spillway this June, it damaged the emergency bladders that give the spillway
some added lift. That added lift pushes the gates up and holds back the water to 890 feet.
We no longer have that cushion because the gates are damaged. We're at 873 now and at 882,
it flows over and bad flooding could happen.

The rain has been absolutely nuts this year.

If I'm not mistaken the Delhi dam is in Eastern Iowa, near Dubuque.

[KakistocracyHater]

13. they better make the dam higher, that's what my Mom just said when I read

your comment. 500 years just got alot shorter.

[CoffeeCat]

16. The thing is...

...is that the Emergency Spillway--that the water flows out of when it gets flooded, is there to protect
the dam. The dam would not be able to sustain such high levels of water. That is what the emergency
spillway is for--to protect the integrity of the dam.

Even if that dam was higher--that much water would be too much force and pressure on the dam. Building it
up higher would still mean so much water pressure on the entire structure--and could cause still cause a
breach.

There have been recent discussions about making Saylorville bigger--widening it so the lake could hold more
water. After seeing what happened with the dam failure at Lake Delhi this weekend--you have to wonder if
that is a good idea.

I hope the powers that be realize that our weather has changed. After three "five-hundred-year events" happening
within a span of two years--you'd think that would be obvious. :eyes:

We've got three days of sunshine forecast, but this seems to be a very serious situation. If the water crests
at 872--there is very little wiggle room. The water will spill over at 882. That's only ten feet of wiggle room.
It would only take a few days of heavy rainfall to be at 882+. And this has been a wet summer--all summer so it's
very likely that it will happen.

I feel so bad for the people in Birdland!

[Bluzmann57]

18. Close to Saylorville?

Man oh man, I heard that the Saylorville dam is nearly ready to burst. I'm in Davenport, and the Mississippi is flooding, although not as badly as it has. But anyway, hope it doesn't rain for a few weeks out your way. If that dam goes, it could be disastrous.

[CoffeeCat]

21. I hadn't heard that...

...the Saylorville dam was ready to burst. I would love to hear more information.

We are upstream--about two miles from the dam. I'm no engineer or water-flow expert, so I don't
know if we're safe or screwed, should the dam fail.

It is interesting though. We've lived near the dam for more than a decade, and have never noticed any construction
on that dam. But this year, they added a lot of rock to it. I took pictures of the heavy equipment moving rock
in. My husband commented that it was kind of ominious to see that--because that dam hadn't been shored up like
that for years, and even decades. We both wondered out loud if something wasn't wrong.

A couple of years ago, a reporter used the Freedom of Information Act to obtain safety records about the Saylorville
Dam. He requested the records from the Army Corp of Engineers, who runs the dam. The reporter's request was denied
due to the Patriot Act!!!!

So, I don't know how sound the dam is. None of the peasants do, nor can they find out apparently--because of the
Patriot Act. Unbelievable isn't it?

If this dam fails--we're talking THOUSANDS of lives lost and trillions in damage. The Des Moines area has about
300,000 people.

I'll Google and see what I can find. Any info on the integrity of the Saylorville dam would be much appreciated!

[Bluzmann57]

23. I heard about it from a guy who lives in Grinnell

I am not sure how solid his info is either. Hopefully, he's full of bs. I'd hate to see that dam burst.

[CoffeeCat]

26. You never know...

...there is a lot of speculation about the Saylorville dam. When they hide
the safety records, they leave it wide open to speculation though.

On the Des Moines Register site there is an article and a thread about this topic.

A couple of people mentioned in the comments section that Saylorville employees
have said that they heard the dam creaking and making noises during 1993. Who knows
if these comments are valid. But it is interesting.

Let's hope for a long dry stretch of weather!

[nashville_brook]

4. our country is crumbling at the seams while we're building Afghanistan from the caves up.

makes me sick.

[Pirate Smile]

5. My in-laws cabin is very near the Dam in the 1st photo. First floor flooded. Boats were still

there but the wave-runner is gone. No flood insurance but it is a vacation home.

They call it a "cabin" but it's actually a nice house.

The unusual thing is that it is a privately owned Dam, owned by the Home Association of the houses along the river, not run or owned by the government.

edit to add - the Dam was just "fixed" last year so it was in good shape. It was the earthen berm next to the Dam that failed and water is flowing over. That counts as part of the Dam but it was more like a levee with the road running on top of it that goes straight up to the bridge directly over the Dam.

[uppityperson]

9. Was theirs flooded up dam or below? Best wishes to them and all impacted

[Pirate Smile]

10. Up dam. Now that the dam failed, the water has dropped. There probably isn't any water in the

house (DH is going up in the morning with his Dad - they were up there this morning too).

Downstream was waiting for a "wall of water" after the dam broke but it sounds like it spread out in corn fields and other places so wont literally hit like a wall of water - still flooding though.

[CoffeeCat]

19. Love Lake Delhi!

Spent many a happy summer there when I was growing up.

And you're right--everyone calls them "cabins" but they're really very
nice houses.

[mzmolly]

6. Wow.

I had no idea ...

[uppityperson]

7. I've a sib who lived downstream of a dam. They were always alert for the siren

ready to hit the car and head uphill fast.

Those pictures are something, thank you and best wishes for those impacted.

[myrna minx]

8. Wow. My heart goes out to our iowan neighbors.

:cry:

[mikelgb]

11. Silver lining:

Because it happened in Iowa it means there may be a chance that infrastructure becomes an election issue.

[pansypoo53219]

12. can you say jonestown?

sadly clara barton is dead. and there were warnings. can you say infrastructure?

[GoCubsGo]

24. Did you mean "Johnstown"?

Jonestown was the mass suicide incident in Guyana.

[tammywammy]

28. They all drank the koolaid???? n/t

[Greyhound]

14. We need between $2T and $7T right now just to keep the inadequate infrastructure we have.

But saving the fortunes of parasites and killing people for oil is so much more important...

Good luck to those people in Iowa.

[Roon]

15. wow!

hardcore.

[PBS Poll-435]

17. After the historic flooding in 2008 in West Des Moines, I think Iowa needs a break

So sad to see. :(

[GoCubsGo]

25. I think Iowa (and every other state) needs to be more careful where they build

Floodplains are called "floodplains" for a reason. I don't mean to sound hard-hearted, but this is just Nature doing what it does. Humans think they can conquer Nature by building dams and levees, but after hundreds of years of dam and levee failures, we still haven't learned our lesson. These floods in Iowa are just one more example of that.

[CoffeeCat]

27. Thank you for remembering...

2008 was a very tough year for the state of Iowa.

It's nice that others remember that.

:)

[Uncle Joe]

20. I feel for the people of Iowa.

:(

Thanks for the thread, WillyT.

[Wounded Bear]

22. Bad stuff....

Best wishes to the people of Iowa.

My Senators just got $44 mill to repair a dam upstream of my home town. Hopefully they get it done in time. repubs don't want to prevent stuff like this, they make too much money off of the cleanups.