Posted on 09/24/2005 9:58:36 AM PDT by Howlin
Sept. 24, 2005, 10:40PM
Dam damage forces evacuation on Trinity
By ALLAN TURNER and ZEKE MINAYA
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle
Trinity River Authority began releasing massive amounts of water from Lake Livingston northeast of Houston today in a frantic effort to lower the lake level after Hurricane Rita's winds and tropical waves dislodged part of the earthen dam's protective shield of boulders.
Riverside residents from Polk County to the Gulf of Mexico were evacuated from their homes because of flooding expected to occur in the river's flood plain. While river authority emergency management director Spencer Karr said the dam did not appear in immediate danger of failing, he said engineers thus far have not been able to determine the severity of the damage.
The release of 80,000 cubic feet of water per second, a process that should continue through Monday, will allow a thorough examination of the damaged structure, Karr said.
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/chronicle/3368309
Sept. 24, 2005, 10:40PM
Dam damage forces evacuation on Trinity
By ALLAN TURNER and ZEKE MINAYA
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle
Trinity River Authority began releasing massive amounts of water from Lake Livingston northeast of Houston today in a frantic effort to lower the lake level after Hurricane Rita's winds and tropical waves dislodged part of the earthen dam's protective shield of boulders.
Riverside residents from Polk County to the Gulf of Mexico were evacuated from their homes because of flooding expected to occur in the river's flood plain. While river authority emergency management director Spencer Karr said the dam did not appear in immediate danger of failing, he said engineers thus far have not been able to determine the severity of the damage.
The release of 80,000 cubic feet of water per second, a process that should continue through Monday, will allow a thorough examination of the damaged structure, Karr said.
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/chronicle/3368309
Well, I'm certainly no CNN fan, but I've been watching both FNC and CNN. CNN has had better coverage during both hurricanes with less histrionics.
..the dam did not appear in immediate danger of failing, he said engineers thus far have not been able to determine the severity of the damage.
This is not very assuring.
Yeah CNN has done a good job lately with the canes.
FNC has too many "purty boys" and "purty girls" vying for the limelight during these events. I mean, my gosh, Geraldo and Shep fought for the same spot during this last one. Shep must have had more clout as he got the most "favored" spot.
Well, I'm afraid I simply wouldn't know. Watching CNN is too hazardous for my health -- and the health of my tv.
http://www.pcoem.org/dam_failure.htm
"The dam is approximately 14,400 feet long and is generally between 45 and 60 feet high, reaching 90 feet at the old riverbed. The earth embankment has an impervious core and its section has slopes of 1 vertical to 2.5 horizontal. The crest of the dam is at elevation 145.0 ft. National Geodetic Vertical Data (NGVD), and is 24 feet wide. It accommodates a single-lane-paved road, which provides access to TRA personnel, law enforcement and emergency vehicles.
The dam is served by a concrete gravity spillway with an ogee crest at elevation 99.0 ft. NGVD. Releases are controlled by twelve 40-foot long by 32-foot high trainer gates. Concrete upstream and downstream aprons direct the water through the spillway and back to the original river channel.
The outlet works consist of a vertical inlet tower with five gates, a 550-foot long by 10-foot diameter conduit, a 170-foot long stilling basin, and a concrete broad-crested weir. A short channel downstream of the stilling basin directs flows back to the river.
Normal (conservation) pool level for the reservoir is 131.0 ft. NGVD, which encompasses a reservoir area of about 82,600 acres and storage of 1,750,000 acre-feet. Maximum pool design surcharge elevation is 134.0 ft. NGVD, which corresponds to a reservoir surface area of 88,900 acres and 2,045,000 acre-feet of storage. The drainage area above the reservoir is approximately 16,583 square miles and average flows are 7,440 CFS.
Livingston Dam is classified as a large, high-hazard structure with a recommended spillway design flood equal to the probable maximum flood (TDWR, 1978). According to the TDWR, the project will pass only 90% of the PMF before overtopping the dam."
Shep got the spot, but then he lost the hat. And another... and another... and another...
LOL...I agree when it comes to "normal" news. With the hurricanes, though, they've done a remarkable job. I haven't been all that impressed with FNC lately, either.
On the live feed they were talking about the dam and I noticed a convoy of about a dozen dump trucks, and one man going over the side of the dam in a harness.
I hope its nothing too serious and that the flood has already peaked at the lake.
more info for the area from the EOM:
http://www.pcoem.org/FLOODS.htm
I'm certainly no expert, but I know the peak stage with floods depends on the tributaries/streams feeding the lake and the amount of water the received as well as the when/where. So, it's possible it hasn't peaked. I sure hope it has. The fact they are evacuating people to drain it quickly doesn't bode well, though.
I am flattered, thank you!
Unfortunately, Louisiana politics has entered an entirely new realm of incompetent. We will have to compose a new dictionary of adjectives -in English and Cajun French- for the likes of Blanko and the thinking that got her elected.
Bobby Jindal should have been our Governor. On TV yesterday he was so far and above Blanko in attitude and leadership it was sad. He told of a company that wanted permission to bring in helicopters to rescue their people as New Orleans flooded. They couldn't get it. So HE gave them permission. He said-
Sometimes you have to do what you have to and then ask for forgiveness instead of permission.
If every local leader had that attitude things wouldn't have been so pitiful.
Good common sense here. Hurricanes don't always go where the last minute predictions say they will and they don't always weaken as they approach land. Sometimes, as with Andrew in FL, they strengthen at the last moment. My aunt, the mother of my Houston cop cousin, was in Columbia, SC when Hugo went in at Charleston. Columbia (around 100 miles from Charleston) went through days of blocked roads and no power. She was really worried and so was I.
What a terrible indictment of Blank-o's utter lack of any leadership ability. But just one of many.
Now, when is she really going to be indicted?
Were the trees in your neighborhood built to withstand a hurricane? I don't know about Texas trees but when storms knock down Alabama trees and those trees fall on houses, the houses go down too.
This map of the Trinty River basin shows that much of the flooding took place east of there.:)
(remember the heaviest rains were Lufkin, se and east)
http://www.crwr.utexas.edu/gis/gishydro01/Class/trmproj/schneider/main.h3.jpg
Meanwhile the lake level has dropped over a foot with the emergency release.
http://data.trinityra.org/Lake_Rainfall.php?step=7&drpIncrem=d&B1=Draw+Map
Looking better imo. As the lake level drops they can check out what damage there is and fix it. People downstream are lucky Rita didnt stall on the Trinity basin above Livingston.
Ps: that 117 mph gust was higher...the gage blew away!
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