Tesla_WTC_Solution
3rd March 2014, 06:47
This is being a bit downplayed, but:
http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2023019385_wanapumdamxml.html
Originally published February 28, 2014 at 7:17 PM | Page modified February 28, 2014 at 9:35 PM
‘Serious problem’: 65-foot crack found in Columbia River dam
Inspectors found a 65-foot crack in a dam below Vantage on the Columbia River, prompting the Grant County PUD to begin lowering water levels.
By Craig Welch
Seattle Times environment reporter
http://seattletimes.com/ABPub/2014/02/28/2023019390.jpg
A massive crack in a major Columbia River dam poses enough of a risk of dam failure that Grant County authorities have activated an emergency-response plan.
Officials said there is no threat to the public from the crack in the Wanapum Dam, which is just down stream from where Interstate 90 crosses the river.
But utility managers are lowering water levels a total of 20 feet because they fear the structure otherwise could endanger inspectors trying to get a better handle on how seriously the dam is damaged.
“At this point we already know there’s a serious problem,” said Thomas Stredwick, spokesman for the Grant County Public Utility District (PUD). “We want to make sure the spillway is stable enough that inspectors are safe when inspecting it.”
Earlier this week, an engineer noticed a slight irregular “bowing” above the spillway gates near where cars can drive across the dam.
When divers finally took a look under water they found a 2-inch-wide crack that stretched for 65 feet along the base of one of the dam’s spillway piers.
After analyzing the data gathered by the divers and plugging it into computer models, the PUD determined late Friday afternoon that the failure risk was high enough that they needed to officially start notifying other government agencies and downstream water users.
“This is a situation that’s really changing as more information becomes available,” Stredwick said. “But there’s no immediate threat to public safety.”
Wanapum, just below The Gorge Amphitheatre and the hamlet of Vantage, is in a rural area. Failure would primarily impact fisherman, orchardists, farmers, boaters — and, of course, power generation. Wanapum currently can generate more than 1,000 megawatts of power.
PUD officials have lowered the water 6 feet behind the dam since discovering the problem earlier in the week, leaving many boat ramps above the dam inaccessible.
Authorities plan to let water levels drop another 14 feet by Monday.
So far the PUD has been able to continue meeting all of its power needs, but Wanapum is such a big electricity generator the utility may ultimately have to turn to buying power on the open market.
Even if the dam doesn’t fail, the significance of the damage is likely to require extensive repairs and that, too, could impact the entire Columbia River system.
“All these dams coordinate to generate energy on a regional scope,” Stedwick said. “If Wanapum is impacted, that has impacts on dams up stream as well as below.”
Officials with the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) declined to comment on the potential impact to power generation because they did not want to unduly influence energy markets.
But Kevin Wingert, a BPA spokesman, said the immediate impact would be an increase in flow from Priest Rapids Dam downstream, which would temporarily exceed the low flows needed to protect chinook salmon redds (nesting holes) through the Hanford Reach area.
He expected flows to return to normal once the drawdown was completed.
Wanapum Dam was built in 1959 and is more than a mile long. The piers supporting its 10 spillway gates are each 65 feet wide, 126 feet tall and 92 feet deep.
Craig Welch: 206-464-2093 or cwelch@seattletimes.com
_______________________________________________
http://abcnews.go.com/US/washington-dam-65-foot-crack/story?id=22731403
Washington Dam Has 65-Foot Crack
March 1, 2014
By GILLIAN MOHNEY
http://a.abcnews.com/images/US/HT_wanapum_dam_jt_140301_16x9_992.jpg
Engineers have started emergency procedures to stabilize a Washington dam after they found a 65-foot crack in the structure.
The Wanapum Dam, a hydroelectric project located on the Columbia River in Grant County, Wash., is still running after divers discovered a 65-foot crack that is 2-inches wide.
The problem was first identified after an engineer noticed a “bowing” in the roadway above the dam and later discovered that a concrete spillway was raised above the water by 2.5 inches, according to Grant County Public Utility District spokesman Thomas Stredwick.
“Since we’ve noticed the issue, there’s no additional movement for that spillway section,” said Stredwick.
Stredwick said there are more than a dozen concrete spillway sections, but only one has been affected by the crack.
The dam has not been evacuated and is still producing electricity for the central Washington region. Due to the severity of the problem, a crisis scenario plan has been implemented, meaning that the damage is significant enough that there is potential the dam could fail.
Some emergency procedures have been initiated, including collaborating with other agencies and notifying residents who own land below the dam of the issue. No evacuations have been ordered.
Engineers have also started to lower the water elevation and they expect the level of the river water to be 20 feet lower than normal by Monday.
To help repair the plant, engineers are performing stability studies to identify the extent of the damage. The crack could also cause problems at other hydroelectric dams along the river as the water is lowered or raised.
The failure of the dam would primarily affect the town of Vantage, which is six miles upstream.
______________________________________________
http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Crack-found-in-Wanapum-Dam-on-Columbia-River-5276765.php
Crack found in Washington dam on Columbia River
Updated 10:26 pm, Friday, February 28, 2014
EPHRATA, Wash. (AP) — A 65-foot-long crack in a Columbia River dam in central Washington has prompted officials to begin lowering the water level by 20 feet so inspectors can get a better idea of how serious the damage is.
There's no immediate threat to public safety from the crack in the Wanapum Dam, Grant County Public Utility District spokesman Thomas Stredwick said Friday. The dam is located just downstream from where Interstate 90 crosses the river.
"At this point we already know there's a serious problem," Stredwick said. "We want to make sure the spillway is stable enough that inspectors are safe when inspecting it."
An engineer earlier this week spotted a slight "bowing" above the spillway gates near where cars can drive across the dam, The Seattle Times reported (http://is.gd/aE0vDj ). Divers found a 2-inch-wide crack along the base of one of the spillway piers.
Public utility district officials analyzed the divers' data and decided Friday that the failure risk was sufficiently high that they should notify other government agencies and downstream water users.
Officials have lowered the water level by 6 feet already and plan to let the level drop another 14 feet by Monday.
Dam failure in the rural area south of the small town of Vantage would primarily affect farmers, fishermen and power generation. The dam can generate more than 1,000 megawatts of hydroelectric power.
PUD officials are working with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to determine how best to repair the cracked pillar.
Repairs could also affect the rest of the Columbia River hydroelectric system.
"All these dams coordinate to generate energy on a regional scope," Stredwick said. "If Wanapum is impacted, that has impacts on dams upstream as well as below."
Officials with the Bonneville Power Administration, the federal utility that sells and transmits much of the Northwest's cheap and abundant hydroelectric power, declined to comment on any potential impact to power generation, The Times reported.
Wanapum Dam was built in 1959 and is more than a mile long.
The piers supporting its 10 spillway gates are each 65 feet wide, 126 feet tall and 92 feet deep.
___
Information from: The Seattle Times, http://www.seattletimes.com
__________________________________________________
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wanapum_Dam
Wanapum Dam is a hydroelectric project located on the Columbia River downstream (south) from Vantage, Washington where Interstate 90 crosses the Columbia from Grant County into Kittitas County. It is owned by the Grant County Public Utility District. Its reservoir is named Lake Wanapum.
The dam, and its lake, are named after the Wanapum Indians. The dam has a rated capacity of 1,038 megawatts and annually generates over 4 million megawatt-hours.
[2]The Wanapum dam was originally licensed in 1955 for a period of 50 years. Construction was initiated in 1959 with initial beneficial operation in 1963. The initial license expired in 2005, after which the Grant County PUD operated the dam on yearly license extensions while negotiations for license extension proceeded. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved a license extension of 44 years for both the Wanapum dam and the downstream Priest Rapids dam on April 17, 2008.
The license extension was conditioned upon programs to:
modernize the power generation capability of the dam,
monitor water quality,
improve wildlife habitat,
protect nearly 700 Wanapum Tribe archaeological sites in the vicinity, and
enhance recreation with new campsites, picnic areas and trails.[3]
Crack
On March 1, 2014, USA Today reported that "A 65-foot-long crack in a Columbia River dam in central Washington has prompted officials to begin lowering the water level by 20 feet so inspectors can get a better idea of how serious the damage is." [4]
________________________________________
Does this have even a slight risk of cutting off I-90? @_@
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2e/Columbia_River_1.JPG
http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2023019385_wanapumdamxml.html
Originally published February 28, 2014 at 7:17 PM | Page modified February 28, 2014 at 9:35 PM
‘Serious problem’: 65-foot crack found in Columbia River dam
Inspectors found a 65-foot crack in a dam below Vantage on the Columbia River, prompting the Grant County PUD to begin lowering water levels.
By Craig Welch
Seattle Times environment reporter
http://seattletimes.com/ABPub/2014/02/28/2023019390.jpg
A massive crack in a major Columbia River dam poses enough of a risk of dam failure that Grant County authorities have activated an emergency-response plan.
Officials said there is no threat to the public from the crack in the Wanapum Dam, which is just down stream from where Interstate 90 crosses the river.
But utility managers are lowering water levels a total of 20 feet because they fear the structure otherwise could endanger inspectors trying to get a better handle on how seriously the dam is damaged.
“At this point we already know there’s a serious problem,” said Thomas Stredwick, spokesman for the Grant County Public Utility District (PUD). “We want to make sure the spillway is stable enough that inspectors are safe when inspecting it.”
Earlier this week, an engineer noticed a slight irregular “bowing” above the spillway gates near where cars can drive across the dam.
When divers finally took a look under water they found a 2-inch-wide crack that stretched for 65 feet along the base of one of the dam’s spillway piers.
After analyzing the data gathered by the divers and plugging it into computer models, the PUD determined late Friday afternoon that the failure risk was high enough that they needed to officially start notifying other government agencies and downstream water users.
“This is a situation that’s really changing as more information becomes available,” Stredwick said. “But there’s no immediate threat to public safety.”
Wanapum, just below The Gorge Amphitheatre and the hamlet of Vantage, is in a rural area. Failure would primarily impact fisherman, orchardists, farmers, boaters — and, of course, power generation. Wanapum currently can generate more than 1,000 megawatts of power.
PUD officials have lowered the water 6 feet behind the dam since discovering the problem earlier in the week, leaving many boat ramps above the dam inaccessible.
Authorities plan to let water levels drop another 14 feet by Monday.
So far the PUD has been able to continue meeting all of its power needs, but Wanapum is such a big electricity generator the utility may ultimately have to turn to buying power on the open market.
Even if the dam doesn’t fail, the significance of the damage is likely to require extensive repairs and that, too, could impact the entire Columbia River system.
“All these dams coordinate to generate energy on a regional scope,” Stedwick said. “If Wanapum is impacted, that has impacts on dams up stream as well as below.”
Officials with the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) declined to comment on the potential impact to power generation because they did not want to unduly influence energy markets.
But Kevin Wingert, a BPA spokesman, said the immediate impact would be an increase in flow from Priest Rapids Dam downstream, which would temporarily exceed the low flows needed to protect chinook salmon redds (nesting holes) through the Hanford Reach area.
He expected flows to return to normal once the drawdown was completed.
Wanapum Dam was built in 1959 and is more than a mile long. The piers supporting its 10 spillway gates are each 65 feet wide, 126 feet tall and 92 feet deep.
Craig Welch: 206-464-2093 or cwelch@seattletimes.com
_______________________________________________
http://abcnews.go.com/US/washington-dam-65-foot-crack/story?id=22731403
Washington Dam Has 65-Foot Crack
March 1, 2014
By GILLIAN MOHNEY
http://a.abcnews.com/images/US/HT_wanapum_dam_jt_140301_16x9_992.jpg
Engineers have started emergency procedures to stabilize a Washington dam after they found a 65-foot crack in the structure.
The Wanapum Dam, a hydroelectric project located on the Columbia River in Grant County, Wash., is still running after divers discovered a 65-foot crack that is 2-inches wide.
The problem was first identified after an engineer noticed a “bowing” in the roadway above the dam and later discovered that a concrete spillway was raised above the water by 2.5 inches, according to Grant County Public Utility District spokesman Thomas Stredwick.
“Since we’ve noticed the issue, there’s no additional movement for that spillway section,” said Stredwick.
Stredwick said there are more than a dozen concrete spillway sections, but only one has been affected by the crack.
The dam has not been evacuated and is still producing electricity for the central Washington region. Due to the severity of the problem, a crisis scenario plan has been implemented, meaning that the damage is significant enough that there is potential the dam could fail.
Some emergency procedures have been initiated, including collaborating with other agencies and notifying residents who own land below the dam of the issue. No evacuations have been ordered.
Engineers have also started to lower the water elevation and they expect the level of the river water to be 20 feet lower than normal by Monday.
To help repair the plant, engineers are performing stability studies to identify the extent of the damage. The crack could also cause problems at other hydroelectric dams along the river as the water is lowered or raised.
The failure of the dam would primarily affect the town of Vantage, which is six miles upstream.
______________________________________________
http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Crack-found-in-Wanapum-Dam-on-Columbia-River-5276765.php
Crack found in Washington dam on Columbia River
Updated 10:26 pm, Friday, February 28, 2014
EPHRATA, Wash. (AP) — A 65-foot-long crack in a Columbia River dam in central Washington has prompted officials to begin lowering the water level by 20 feet so inspectors can get a better idea of how serious the damage is.
There's no immediate threat to public safety from the crack in the Wanapum Dam, Grant County Public Utility District spokesman Thomas Stredwick said Friday. The dam is located just downstream from where Interstate 90 crosses the river.
"At this point we already know there's a serious problem," Stredwick said. "We want to make sure the spillway is stable enough that inspectors are safe when inspecting it."
An engineer earlier this week spotted a slight "bowing" above the spillway gates near where cars can drive across the dam, The Seattle Times reported (http://is.gd/aE0vDj ). Divers found a 2-inch-wide crack along the base of one of the spillway piers.
Public utility district officials analyzed the divers' data and decided Friday that the failure risk was sufficiently high that they should notify other government agencies and downstream water users.
Officials have lowered the water level by 6 feet already and plan to let the level drop another 14 feet by Monday.
Dam failure in the rural area south of the small town of Vantage would primarily affect farmers, fishermen and power generation. The dam can generate more than 1,000 megawatts of hydroelectric power.
PUD officials are working with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to determine how best to repair the cracked pillar.
Repairs could also affect the rest of the Columbia River hydroelectric system.
"All these dams coordinate to generate energy on a regional scope," Stredwick said. "If Wanapum is impacted, that has impacts on dams upstream as well as below."
Officials with the Bonneville Power Administration, the federal utility that sells and transmits much of the Northwest's cheap and abundant hydroelectric power, declined to comment on any potential impact to power generation, The Times reported.
Wanapum Dam was built in 1959 and is more than a mile long.
The piers supporting its 10 spillway gates are each 65 feet wide, 126 feet tall and 92 feet deep.
___
Information from: The Seattle Times, http://www.seattletimes.com
__________________________________________________
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wanapum_Dam
Wanapum Dam is a hydroelectric project located on the Columbia River downstream (south) from Vantage, Washington where Interstate 90 crosses the Columbia from Grant County into Kittitas County. It is owned by the Grant County Public Utility District. Its reservoir is named Lake Wanapum.
The dam, and its lake, are named after the Wanapum Indians. The dam has a rated capacity of 1,038 megawatts and annually generates over 4 million megawatt-hours.
[2]The Wanapum dam was originally licensed in 1955 for a period of 50 years. Construction was initiated in 1959 with initial beneficial operation in 1963. The initial license expired in 2005, after which the Grant County PUD operated the dam on yearly license extensions while negotiations for license extension proceeded. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved a license extension of 44 years for both the Wanapum dam and the downstream Priest Rapids dam on April 17, 2008.
The license extension was conditioned upon programs to:
modernize the power generation capability of the dam,
monitor water quality,
improve wildlife habitat,
protect nearly 700 Wanapum Tribe archaeological sites in the vicinity, and
enhance recreation with new campsites, picnic areas and trails.[3]
Crack
On March 1, 2014, USA Today reported that "A 65-foot-long crack in a Columbia River dam in central Washington has prompted officials to begin lowering the water level by 20 feet so inspectors can get a better idea of how serious the damage is." [4]
________________________________________
Does this have even a slight risk of cutting off I-90? @_@
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2e/Columbia_River_1.JPG