Nearly 3,000 dams in Texas will be exempt from inspection, including 216 that are rated as high hazard. This is thanks to a Texas State law passed earlier this year meant to lessen the burden on private dam owners in rural parts of the state. [Source: More at StateImpact Texas on NPR.org via AEG Insider. Image: TCEQ via NPR.org]
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An excavator mounted drill rig drilling shafts as part of a project to pass utilities under I-35 near 51st Street toppled over while trying to move in soft, rain soaked soil. The Austin Fire Department was able to extract the operator from the cab and he was taken to a local hospital with minor injuries, a minor miracle. I’m not sure what the purpose of the drilled shafts were for. Since the project was for some kind of utility pipe jacking under the freeway, I’m speculating it was drilling holes for temporary shoring for the jacking pit or something along those lines. I’m sure OSHA will be looking into the incident. Video news story after the break. (Photo from Austin KXAN.com).
Pond Embankment Stabilization with Geopolymer Injection
[Editor] An effluent pond in southeast Texas was suffering from years of erosion. Recently, an escalation of subsurface water seepage through the pond’s embankment threatened the community’s main water source. URETEK used their versatile geopolymer product to inject beneath the embankment to seal off the seepage. The project was a huge success! Read on for this contributed article from GeoPrac sponsor URETEK ICR. [/Editor]
54 Dams Slated for Removal in 2007
Contact: Garrett Russo, Press Secretary, American Rivers, (202) 347-7550; Stephanie Lindloff, American Rivers, (518) 482-2631
Washington, D.C. — With dams across the country falling into disrepair, dam owners in 12 states have chosen to eliminate obsolete infrastructure by removing their dams. An annual survey of government agencies and private conservation organizations shows that 54 dams in 12 states have been removed or are slated for removal in 2007.