Remediation begins on Center Hill Dam, Tenn.
Project Related
San Vicente Dam, Lakeside, CA to be raised by 117-ft
From ENR:
The San Diego County Water Authority board of directors last week certified the environmental impact report to raise San Vicente Dam by 117 ft.
The $568-million project, to be built on top of the existing San Vicente Dam in Lakeside, will expand the reservoir to hold an additional 52,000 acre-ft of water for use during emergencies and another 100,000 acre-ft of water to supplement imported supplies during dry periods.
The Dam will be constructed of roller compacted concrete and will reportedly be the largest dam raising ever performed in the US and the largest using roller compacted concrete in the world. (Photo by O’Connor Construction Management, Inc.)
Regional
New Dams Being Considered to Handle West’s Water Needs
An article in the Seattle Post Intelligencer discusses how the era of building massive dams that ended in the late 1960s with the completion of Glen Canyon Dam may be on its way to a resurgence because of booming populations throughout the west and a desperate need for water. This comes at a time when the USBR and other agencies are in the process of tearing down some dams. Of course the environmental hurdles and opposition to new dam projects will likely kill many of the projects before they get started. But in the absence of any kind of limits on population growth, there may not be many other options. Read on to see where major dam projects are being considered. (Photo by Molas)
Failures
$180 Million Settlement in Reservoir Failure
On December 14, 2005, the upper reservoir of the Taum Sauk pumped storage plant, a hydroelectric power plant in the Missouri Ozarks, suffered a catastrophic failure. The resulting flood severely damaged the Jonhson’s Shut-Ins State Park and swept away the park superintendent and his family. Fortunately all of them survived. (Photos by Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and USGS)
Last week, the Missouri Attorney General’s office announced a settlement of $180 million between the facility’s owner, Ameren Corp. The failure reportedly was a result of negligence on the part of the company. More details after the break.