I live on the east coast so this is not a news event for us out here. But because of the engineering feats I have followed this story. Out of everyone who has reported or made a video about it. Juan you sir have everyone beat even the major news. I have learned more about what is going on from just one of your videos compared to 20 others combined
Nathan Tanner: You are right, Nathan. Juan's reporting quality, depth and consistency leaves all other news guys guessing, if they even do that. And now a word about geography. You say you are in the East. The dam story is in California. That, sir, is "out" west. You are back where we came from, so long ago. You are "back" East. Back there. We are out. My late wife was British. She could never get that either. Now it's your turn, if you want to explain "down" east to me. I think they say that in Maine, perhaps?
I LOVE IT! You realize, they're rolling their eyes every time it's you, asking pointed and pertinent questions, I know you make them squirm! Great coverage!
Doug Schwarz Actually, they very much appreciate his intelligent questions and not the mind numbing mass media questions the get about the "green spot" for the 14,038th time. They can also hear his questions are balanced with a focus on accurate information to inform the public. He'll ask the tough question when needed, but he isn't playing the game of "gotcha" trying to trip them up or getting them to look foolish.
And again, Mr. Brown, another thorough update. I check in several times a month. Not once has the experience been a waste of time. Thank you for all your efforts. God bless.
Juan, I’ve really enjoyed your videos and your combination of flying your Mighty Luscombe to provide aerial views has been a great enhancement to seeing the big picture, especially when blended with drone footage. You have become a really good reporter in the process! From one pilot to another, keep up the great work and FLY SAFE!
Interesting that either there were no mainstream media types asking about the Green Spot... I was so looking forward to an academy award performance reaction from Juan in response. Not important really, just amusing. What is great is Juan still is showing other media how to cover a story, with zero bias, genuine interest, and a nicely edited and assembled production once again. Kudos Juan! I admit to looking for a notice whenever I fire up UA-cam after work to see if Juan has something new posted.
Excellent, Juan! The consideration given to the detail and the number of your questions is testament to the quality of your reporting. As is their respect for your pragmatic, objective and respectful approach. The fact that I’d expect nothing less from a pilot of your experience does not diminish my appreciation of the value that you are providing to the world.
RIP the very deep plunge pool, nearly gone now. Kiewit doing a great job as are you with the reports Juan. That's an incredible safety record too considering the scale of the task.
They are doing well, especially looking at the huge hole that had been ripped out the hillside. Hard to imagine that now. Thanks once again for the update.
Great job Juan! Something simular happened up here in Minnesota along the St. Louis river in 2012. It took almost three years to construct a new emergency spillway. It involved the power company which paid for the reconstruction.
Thanks for the update "Blancolirio" , this keeps us comfortable down in the city of Oroville , helps with the live stream pictures , which gives us some numbers to go with them....
Wow the work footage is awesome, DWR might want to use it for any final presentations on the work done. Very nice drone footage. Most cinematographers use too wide a field of view, few take advantage of the viewing angles ability to reveal what is going on up close. This is like looking over the worker's shoulder. Nice filming and editing of that section in particular.
It snowed in the High Sierra Passes already...!! Thanks for the update Juan...!! The green spot is actually a Martian Underworld that may attack at any time
Again great video and interview with DWR, Mr. Browne ! And a most cogent and intriguing question on conducting some controlled testing of the RCP and hardened concrete if water levels permit ! I'm sure there's a lot engineers and engineering schools around the world sharing in your curiosity !
Thanks for bringing back some old memories on your last video. There's always some training that as a young buck that you think you'll never forget, but for the life of me I can't remember what the GUMP check entails. Vance 85-04
Another excellent video Juan ! Concrete has an initial set of about 24 hours depending on the admixture. However, there's a final curing which takes about another month. I'm guessing that might be one reason why they don't want to test it especially with such a huge amount laid in such a short time. Lotsa scary variables lol
been watching the streaming video of the spillway repair work. Today I see a dump truck drive down to a pile of debris and two small loaders start working on putting the debris in the dump truck, then both loaders move away to do something other work. Meanwhile the dump truck sitting idle. Seems like poor planning should have finished filling the dump truck so it could haul out load. Great progress. I have been taking snapshots of from the online stream and is great to see the progress made. Thanks for your great reporting Juan.
Thanks Juan - Loafer Creek boat ramp is just about straight across from the spillway boat ramp just on the other side of the dam a mile or so back from the dam
The longer the RCC has time to set and harden, the better ? Don't know. I would like to see a test on the completed Spillway project too Juan . Thank you for the update.
Thanks again for another nice presentation. Good to see the details explained, especially on how they prepare the RCC walls. You are apparently good at preparing steel troweled shotcrete over there, which is quite unusual elsewhere so that’s interesting. But may I remind that there could be bigger spillways being built elsewhere in the world (although presumably one avoids reshaping rock along the chute with RCC as in this exceptional challenge).
I guess you locals know where Loafer Creek is. Looks like there is a ramp there. Not hardly big enough for heavy use. Room for a bigger one. Thanks Juan for the updates from a former Sacto county resident.
As always a very informative show. Your approach to the issues and your presentation is excellent. Perhaps I am just a techno geek but I love the way you break things down and present them while at the same time not talking down to people. As one of your commenters says this sets a new standard in professional presentation with honesty and technical details that instruct and inform. If all reporters could cover technical events like this or hire someone like yourself to do so we would be a much more informed and reasonable nation. The technical details are fascinating and truly amazing.
It is only now that I've seen so many people crawling all over this thing, and bringing the two "halves" together, that I finally am getting a good sense of the immense scale of this thing. It's absolutely massive. I can only hope that other infrastructure around the country and around the globe is better maintained, so a massive scale disaster never happens. What an incredible undertaking. I'm betting that now, whether or not they can get all the way from ~700 to ~800 (and actually test the spillway) will have a lot to do with how much rain we get. It could be another dry winter and the lake might barely rise at all. Question for Juan, or for the DWR people: How many years DOES the spillway wind up getting used, for more than just a trickle?
But Juan! What about the big green spot?!..... I would imagine those people really appreciate taking question from someone who has actually been following this project and knows what they are talking about.
Thank you Juan, gob well done. The SW looking good nice safe job, I worked a lot with Cement oil field and know how quick things happen, watching them blasting the Gunnite on the walls or hooking all that Rebar finger biteing and that many persons the do look good I see Team work. thanks for getting us a better view. Lets pray for the hurting in Las Vegas and there loved ones. I don't like to go to Country Western Conserts or any crouds anymore to many crazies.
There has been a very large number of RCC dams and spillways world wide and most likely a lot of experiments involving how RCC responds to water flow. "In the quarter century since Willow Creek, considerable research and experimentation have yielded innumerable improvements in concrete mix designs, dam designs and construction methods for roller-compacted concrete dams; by 2008, about 350 RCC dams existed world-wide.[8] Currently the highest dam of this type is the Chinese Longtan Dam, at 216 m, with the Pakistani Diamer-Bhasha Dam under construction at 272 m."
I concur with your kudos to Kiewit. No accidents and on schedule. (No budget so can't rate that.) Kudos also to all the paper pushers at DWR, FEMA, FERC, Corps of Engineers and all the other regulatory agencies involved that miraculously got all their papers pushed simultaneously in the same direction so that this project could be authorized and built this season.
A Loafer creek ramp expansion would certainly be welcome. It's the nicest ramp on oroville, with fantastic adjacent camp areas, but unfortunately it's the first ramp to be out of use when the water gets too low. Seems like a good decision overall if the actually decide to get on with it instead of just posturing for the public.
I'm gonna say yes for RCC... because I just can't imagine using that much at any time on a dam structure on any new dam design... I kind of wonder how many millionaires will be made out of this project.
Great job of reporting status. Lake level is 706. The Hyatt power plant is running under capacity at 7000 cfs per day. It is unlikely that enough rain will fall in the rest of October to raise the lake level. So they really have a time buffer beyond Nov 1. If the Hyatt power plant can handle the rainfall volume, they could have a long extended buffer for additional work.
Good information. Although I was hoping for a blooper real at the end curtsy of the main stream media's questions during the call. I wonder how many of them are still asking about "the green spot". (And yes I am aware that issue has been resolved but the MSM hasn't seemed to let it go).
Those guys hand troweling the walls have got to be hurting at the end of a shift. Wonder how much DMSO they use. ;-) Good report as usual. All the best, -- Joe
I completely agree with you that they need to test the spillway if at all possible I work up there everyday and see what's going on and I am honestly curious if that is going to hold up to any CFS coming out of that spillway
Next time ask if there can be a dinner or something around holiday time for the Grunts grinding out the actual *work* part of this historic saga. Show 'em some 'love' !!!
It's interesting to reflect back on the thoughts and conversations many of us were having back in February-March as the situation was unfolding. Given such a daunting task of rebuilding a significant structure, there was plenty of skepticism the team would be unable to complete Phase I by November 1st. I see several comments hinting the math doesn't add up and they won't complete by Nov 1. Big programs are forced to publish a definitive date, but in reality they are modeled with a range of certainty given the many risks and variables being input. Publicly, big programs can't publish the aggressive and pessimistic dates the model generates...people can't seem to deal with that uncertainty, but in reality that's the way it is managed behind closed doors. So, if they finish on Nov 3rd, there will be plenty of "green spot" pundits rush out and say "I told you so"...but a Nov 3rd finish would be an amazing result given the complexity they have faced along the way and over such a long duration. Well done Oroville reconstruction team...which includes our public officials, private contractors and yes, even those lowly public servants who seem to get little respect. Note: I have no connection with anyone working the Oroville project and I live over 2,000 miles away. :-)
Thank you Juan for the update. Hopefully we will get a lot of rain so it can test the RCC on the spillway. I sure hope they rebuild the boat ramp at the Dam. If they make a ramp at Loafer Creek, won't we loose a campground and swimming area? Could you find out?
Love the flyovers but have yet to see the top cement loading place where my son Charlie is running a loader. Go ahead and fly over and say Mom said wow son this is just great
Legend has it that in the immediate aftermath of this disaster, FERC personnel were shocked that the public was still allowed to cross in front of the spillway head gates. Apparently, they commented that since 911, no other structure in the United States allows the public to have access to their spillway control gates. During the same conversations, the thought was that they would improve Burma road, which they have, to allow the public to still get access to the "spillway boat ramp", without crossing the spillway or get near the head gate structure. After 911 the public was stopped from parking atop the dam on the inboard side of the dam road. Access was also halted at the parking lot at the far end of the dam adjacent to the spillway head gates. It wasn't until the last year or two that the parking lot was re-open and the public allowed to use. The roadway parking across the dam road was never again allowed after 911. It is more evident now that we have witnessed how quickly a failure at one or multiple gates could create a real problem when the lake is elevated.
I have been a Civil Engineer (and still am) for 25 years and even for me you have made this whole event reporting interesting even though I know many of the construction methods and details of the work. I would be interested if Kiewit will be working all winter and if so what they plan on working on during wet season also. Thanks for all your reports.
Can you imagine how those guys feel about all of their work on the side walls being torn down to be replaced with structural concrete ? I take my work seriously, and would probably start drinking more than currently!
Government is well known for getting all building projects done ahead of schedule AND under budget, so you shouldn't worry. LOVE the boat ramp comment! Figures.
Good report Juan, thanks! Lately, I've been watching the main webcam about 6 hours a day (a guess, maybe it's more), and last night they added access to a 2nd road for the RCC trucks to use, so they don't need to wait on one to get off the single lane portion of the lower access road by returning to the plant on a higher road, bypassing that narrow section. All three dump trucks are moving RCC more quickly now, and as they said, as fast as the plant can crank out the mix, it's loaded, and it's off to the spillway to get the tires washed... 🤗 I can't imagine the Shotcrete & RCC walls will actually be "replaced" Juan, but rather a structural concrete facing added. That would make more sense, removing what's there now would be way too much wasted work, when a good face would surely do the trick. BUT, not being an engineer, I don't know for certain that would be as strong as the lower spillway walls that are constructed around steel beams. I also don't know how far into the ground the beams are pounded, if at all, because we didn't see any of that kind of equipment in use down there where/when they put in the pre-made rebar wall structures. Perhaps the beams were placed well before I started watching this closely. But, we can only presume they have an excellent plan from all the engineers, and will finish up the project with something long-lasting enough for many generations to not ever need to worry about it. We'll also see how the aeration works on the expected cavitation, which is what you probably anticipated in envisioning a test run. But, they need water high enough to have some to go through the gates, and by that time, they also need to be dang sure it'll work in case of heavy water-producing weather. It's all absolutely fascinating for this old farm boy, regardless! 🤠
See construction tour series...I asked that question about the RCC walls-said they'd take em all the way down so they could build the drains correctly under the walls.
Thanks, Juan! Wow, well then it looks like that webcam is going to be a lot of fun to watch for quite some time to come, then!!! Okay man, onward & keep up the great work! I'm going to keep watching all of this amazing stuff, including yours, there's simply nothing much better for safe entertainment at home. 😎
If that was the case it would've been shut down right after 9/11. There's really not much danger from high explosives from where the explosives could be detonated from. even the bridge over the spillway that was used to get to the boat ramp there was little danger from a terrorist attack. Moving the boat ramp to another location would be to alleviate those fears as well as having a safer boat ramp. The one at the dam is quite steep and many a vehicle has gone into the lake over the years because of that.
I recently learned of the Brushy Fork coal sludge dam which is 900' and is growing still. Why doesn't it get credit for being the tallest dam in the U.S.?
Woohoo! Never been this early before! Edited to add: A press conference without any mention by the mainstream media of the much ballyhooed "green spot"? They must be slipping!
I think the liberal agenda (so called) mainstream media has shifted gears to "ban guns" after the Las Vegas shooting, while totally ignoring the shooting in a predominantly white church in Tennessee by a black guy. Hopefully the "green spot" will come back soon and give the simple minded media fodder for their doom & gloom predictions so they can keep their ratings up.
Your coverage of this event really sets a new standard that I hope others will follow in the future.
Hear Here! superb work! Thanks Juan.
When he gets grounded from Heavy aircraft due to age, he will be all set for a full career in investigative journalism.
Where can we nominate Juan for a journalism award
Eastern Woods He needs a Pulitzer Prize, but I don't know if they give one for his type of Real News.
ahabtheplant
yes! best coverage anywhere on Oroville dam.. by large margin.
I live on the east coast so this is not a news event for us out here. But because of the engineering feats I have followed this story. Out of everyone who has reported or made a video about it. Juan you sir have everyone beat even the major news. I have learned more about what is going on from just one of your videos compared to 20 others combined
Nathan Tanner: You are right, Nathan. Juan's reporting quality, depth and consistency leaves all other news guys guessing, if they even do that.
And now a word about geography. You say you are in the East. The dam story is in California. That, sir, is "out" west. You are back where we came from, so long ago. You are "back" East. Back there. We are out.
My late wife was British. She could never get that either.
Now it's your turn, if you want to explain "down" east to me. I think they say that in Maine, perhaps?
Maine I don't know what they mean there. Im from Georgia so I should have said down South East Coast.
Half million man hours with no injuries, amazing & a welcome stat. Good work Juan.
Especially considering the very difficult rock terrain they had to contend with at the early stages.
Paleolithictech22 same in U.K. safety on major contracts is huge. It’s to the benefit of all really.
I LOVE IT! You realize, they're rolling their eyes every time it's you, asking pointed and pertinent questions, I know you make them squirm! Great coverage!
Doug Schwarz Actually, they very much appreciate his intelligent questions and not the mind numbing mass media questions the get about the "green spot" for the 14,038th time. They can also hear his questions are balanced with a focus on accurate information to inform the public. He'll ask the tough question when needed, but he isn't playing the game of "gotcha" trying to trip them up or getting them to look foolish.
I'm in construction and have been on some big jobs but this schedule and scale is very impressive hard hats off to all the people on this project
Thank you once again Juan.
And again, Mr. Brown, another thorough update. I check in several times a month. Not once has the experience been a waste of time. Thank you for all your efforts. God bless.
Juan, I’ve really enjoyed your videos and your combination of flying your Mighty Luscombe to provide aerial views has been a great enhancement to seeing the big picture, especially when blended with drone footage. You have become a really good reporter in the process! From one pilot to another, keep up the great work and FLY SAFE!
Interesting that either there were no mainstream media types asking about the Green Spot... I was so looking forward to an academy award performance reaction from Juan in response. Not important really, just amusing. What is great is Juan still is showing other media how to cover a story, with zero bias, genuine interest, and a nicely edited and assembled production once again. Kudos Juan! I admit to looking for a notice whenever I fire up UA-cam after work to see if Juan has something new posted.
Amazing progress, hats off to everybody working so hard.
Excellent, Juan!
The consideration given to the detail and the number of your questions is testament to the quality of your reporting.
As is their respect for your pragmatic, objective and respectful approach.
The fact that I’d expect nothing less from a pilot of your experience does not diminish my appreciation of the value that you are providing to the world.
John W Lewis Thanks John!
That, is no doubt , going to be, a tough spillway!! loved your first question to DWR .
Awesome Job to everyone involved!!!
Thank you Blancolirio for the update --amazing how this build has progressed, and if it were not for your videos, well, ignorance would previal...
RIP the very deep plunge pool, nearly gone now. Kiewit doing a great job as are you with the reports Juan. That's an incredible safety record too considering the scale of the task.
Thanks Juan, always a great report. Still watching from afar with total amazement and keeness. Well done to all working on this project.
Thank you for the updates!
Juan: Thanks for the continuing updates; you are our "local man makes good doing the news, story."
These guys are gonna make it. Hard to believe when you could see that huge cannyon in February, what an incredible feat.
As always.....
Excellent coverage ✔️
Excellent questions ✔️
Excellent explinations ✔️
...pure unbiased coverage -wish all news channels had this style !
What an awesome journey this has been! Can't thank you enough for the dedication you have shown, Juan!
Amazing progress! Thanks Juan!
They are doing well, especially looking at the huge hole that had been ripped out the hillside. Hard to imagine that now. Thanks once again for the update.
Thank you for your comment too this work and keeping us informed. I live in Phoenix and have followed you since the beginning big thanks
Thanks for watching!
Great job Juan! Something simular happened up here in Minnesota along the St. Louis river in 2012. It took almost three years to construct a new emergency spillway. It involved the power company which paid for the reconstruction.
They're speeding ahead, I believe they will make it! Thanks for the report.
....13
Thanks for the update "Blancolirio" , this keeps us comfortable down in the city of Oroville , helps with the live stream pictures , which gives us some numbers to go with them....
Another very helpful update, Juan! Thanks so much for all you're doing "in your spare time"! ;-)
Professional job as usual, Juan. Many thanks.
Another outstanding video Juan ! THANKYOU
Wow, amazing. Thanks again Juan for the update. 👍🏻
Thank-you Juan, good report.....as always.
Excellent coverage, great reporting, I look forward to these updates!
Good update Juan! I like the drone footage! I share your disappointment that they are not planning to test. Pray for a lot of rain!
thanks Juan! great report as usual.
Wow the work footage is awesome, DWR might want to use it for any final presentations on the work done. Very nice drone footage. Most cinematographers use too wide a field of view, few take advantage of the viewing angles ability to reveal what is going on up close. This is like looking over the worker's shoulder. Nice filming and editing of that section in particular.
Very good video Juan! THANKS!
It snowed in the High Sierra Passes already...!! Thanks for the update Juan...!! The green spot is actually a Martian Underworld that may attack at any time
That’s still a lot of work ahead but, I reckon they’ll reach it....just.
Once again thanks Juan. 👍🏼😊
Excellent work, as always, Juan ! :)
Again great video and interview with DWR, Mr. Browne ! And a most cogent and intriguing question on conducting some controlled testing of the RCP and hardened concrete if water levels permit ! I'm sure there's a lot engineers and engineering schools around the world sharing in your curiosity !
I'm looking forward to all the next video on your channel. Great work. You really deserve a Pulitzer Prize for Journalism!
Thanks always such informative and constructive updates!
Much thanks again, Juan.
I really enjoy the background music in all your videos Juan, nice work sir.
Thank you Juan.
Thanks for bringing back some old memories on your last video. There's always some training that as a young buck that you think you'll never forget, but for the life of me I can't remember what the GUMP check entails. Vance 85-04
Gas, Undercarriage, Mixture, Propeller - as applicable of course.
Another excellent video Juan ! Concrete has an initial set of about 24 hours depending on the admixture. However, there's a final curing which takes about another month. I'm guessing that might be one reason why they don't want to test it especially with such a huge amount laid in such a short time. Lotsa scary variables lol
They got this. Even if they were late by a week i don't think there are any pineapples heading this way for a while LoL
been watching the streaming video of the spillway repair work. Today I see a dump truck drive down to a pile of debris and two small loaders start working on putting the debris in the dump truck, then both loaders move away to do something other work. Meanwhile the dump truck sitting idle. Seems like poor planning should have finished filling the dump truck so it could haul out load. Great progress. I have been taking snapshots of from the online stream and is great to see the progress made. Thanks for your great reporting Juan.
Another well done report sir... 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
Thanks Juan - Loafer Creek boat ramp is just about straight across from the spillway boat ramp just on the other side of the dam a mile or so back from the dam
Thanks Juan !
Thank you Juan. Another great report reporting the truth!!!!
Amazing work from you and at the dam.
Thanks..you are the best info out there!!!
thanks for the update
The longer the RCC has time to set and harden, the better ? Don't know. I would like to see a test on the completed Spillway project too Juan . Thank you for the update.
You make my day love your videos ty so much
High quality safety management . Good work by everyone :-)
Thanks again for another nice presentation. Good to see the details explained, especially on how they prepare the RCC walls. You are apparently good at preparing steel troweled shotcrete over there, which is quite unusual elsewhere so that’s interesting. But may I remind that there could be bigger spillways being built elsewhere in the world (although presumably one avoids reshaping rock along the chute with RCC as in this exceptional challenge).
Thank you JB
I guess you locals know where Loafer Creek is. Looks like there is a ramp there. Not hardly big enough for heavy use. Room for a bigger one. Thanks Juan for the updates from a former Sacto county resident.
As always a very informative show. Your approach to the issues and your presentation is excellent. Perhaps I am just a techno geek but I love the way you break things down and present them while at the same time not talking down to people. As one of your commenters says this sets a new standard in professional presentation with honesty and technical details that instruct and inform. If all reporters could cover technical events like this or hire someone like yourself to do so we would be a much more informed and reasonable nation. The technical details are fascinating and truly amazing.
Thanks Dianne!
It is only now that I've seen so many people crawling all over this thing, and bringing the two "halves" together, that I finally am getting a good sense of the immense scale of this thing. It's absolutely massive.
I can only hope that other infrastructure around the country and around the globe is better maintained, so a massive scale disaster never happens. What an incredible undertaking.
I'm betting that now, whether or not they can get all the way from ~700 to ~800 (and actually test the spillway) will have a lot to do with how much rain we get. It could be another dry winter and the lake might barely rise at all.
Question for Juan, or for the DWR people: How many years DOES the spillway wind up getting used, for more than just a trickle?
But Juan! What about the big green spot?!..... I would imagine those people really appreciate taking question from someone who has actually been following this project and knows what they are talking about.
They do!
Good work,thanks
A test. Hmm. I mulled that over in my mind.
When you think about it.
It's been amazing watching this.
Thank you Juan, gob well done. The SW looking good nice safe job, I worked a lot with Cement oil field and know how quick things happen, watching them blasting the Gunnite on the walls or hooking all that Rebar finger biteing and that many persons the do look good I see Team work. thanks for getting us a better view. Lets pray for the hurting in Las Vegas and there loved ones. I don't like to go to Country Western Conserts or any crouds anymore to many crazies.
Great questions!
Looking good
thank you
There has been a very large number of RCC dams and spillways world wide and most likely a lot of experiments involving how RCC responds to water flow.
"In the quarter century since Willow Creek, considerable research and experimentation have yielded innumerable improvements in concrete mix designs, dam designs and construction methods for roller-compacted concrete dams; by 2008, about 350 RCC dams existed world-wide.[8] Currently the highest dam of this type is the Chinese Longtan Dam, at 216 m, with the Pakistani Diamer-Bhasha Dam under construction at 272 m."
I concur with your kudos to Kiewit. No accidents and on schedule. (No budget so can't rate that.)
Kudos also to all the paper pushers at DWR, FEMA, FERC, Corps of Engineers and all the other regulatory agencies involved that miraculously got all their papers pushed simultaneously in the same direction so that this project could be authorized and built this season.
Yes! The cutting of red tape is a HUGE story!
That very last picture of the spill way makes it look like they are off mark to the right of the original spillway
Love it. Thanks.
Yes, I have been thinking all along How is this RCC going to perform and at these extensive thicknesses. Time will tell. Thanks Juan
INTERESTING .
Good questions.
A Loafer creek ramp expansion would certainly be welcome. It's the nicest ramp on oroville, with fantastic adjacent camp areas, but unfortunately it's the first ramp to be out of use when the water gets too low. Seems like a good decision overall if the actually decide to get on with it instead of just posturing for the public.
I'm gonna say yes for RCC... because I just can't imagine using that much at any time on a dam structure on any new dam design... I kind of wonder how many millionaires will be made out of this project.
Check out a dam in India. All RCC. There’s a video on yt.
Maybe largest for California but not largest ever. That would be the Longtan in China which used 4.95 million cu m of RCC used and completed in 2009.
Great job of reporting status.
Lake level is 706. The Hyatt power plant is running under capacity at 7000 cfs per day. It is unlikely that enough rain will fall in the rest of October to raise the lake level. So they really have a time buffer beyond Nov 1. If the Hyatt power plant can handle the rainfall volume, they could have a long extended buffer for additional work.
Yep. that's the plan for next year.
Good information. Although I was hoping for a blooper real at the end curtsy of the main stream media's questions during the call. I wonder how many of them are still asking about "the green spot". (And yes I am aware that issue has been resolved but the MSM hasn't seemed to let it go).
Those guys hand troweling the walls have got to be hurting at the end of a shift. Wonder how much DMSO they use. ;-)
Good report as usual.
All the best,
-- Joe
I completely agree with you that they need to test the spillway if at all possible I work up there everyday and see what's going on and I am honestly curious if that is going to hold up to any CFS coming out of that spillway
Next time ask if there can be a dinner or something around holiday time for the Grunts grinding out the actual *work* part of this historic saga.
Show 'em some 'love' !!!
Good idea!
It's interesting to reflect back on the thoughts and conversations many of us were having back in February-March as the situation was unfolding. Given such a daunting task of rebuilding a significant structure, there was plenty of skepticism the team would be unable to complete Phase I by November 1st. I see several comments hinting the math doesn't add up and they won't complete by Nov 1. Big programs are forced to publish a definitive date, but in reality they are modeled with a range of certainty given the many risks and variables being input. Publicly, big programs can't publish the aggressive and pessimistic dates the model generates...people can't seem to deal with that uncertainty, but in reality that's the way it is managed behind closed doors. So, if they finish on Nov 3rd, there will be plenty of "green spot" pundits rush out and say "I told you so"...but a Nov 3rd finish would be an amazing result given the complexity they have faced along the way and over such a long duration. Well done Oroville reconstruction team...which includes our public officials, private contractors and yes, even those lowly public servants who seem to get little respect. Note: I have no connection with anyone working the Oroville project and I live over 2,000 miles away. :-)
Thank you Juan for the update. Hopefully we will get a lot of rain so it can test the RCC on the spillway. I sure hope they rebuild the boat ramp at the Dam. If they make a ramp at Loafer Creek, won't we loose a campground and swimming area? Could you find out?
Good job as usual ★★★★★
Love the flyovers but have yet to see the top cement loading place where my son Charlie is running a loader. Go ahead and fly over and say Mom said wow son this is just great
Legend has it that in the immediate aftermath of this disaster, FERC personnel were shocked that the public was still allowed to cross in front of the spillway head gates. Apparently, they commented that since 911, no other structure in the United States allows the public to have access to their spillway control gates.
During the same conversations, the thought was that they would improve Burma road, which they have, to allow the public to still get access to the "spillway boat ramp", without crossing the spillway or get near the head gate structure.
After 911 the public was stopped from parking atop the dam on the inboard side of the dam road. Access was also halted at the parking lot at the far end of the dam adjacent to the spillway head gates.
It wasn't until the last year or two that the parking lot was re-open and the public allowed to use. The roadway parking across the dam road was never again allowed after 911.
It is more evident now that we have witnessed how quickly a failure at one or multiple gates could create a real problem when the lake is elevated.
I have been a Civil Engineer (and still am) for 25 years and even for me you have made this whole event reporting interesting even though I know many of the construction methods and details of the work. I would be interested if Kiewit will be working all winter and if so what they plan on working on during wet season also. Thanks for all your reports.
Yes work will continue all winter. Plenty of other projects to prep and finish.
Bravo, Juan
Bravo, Kiewit
I hope they are able to remove the temporary walls and reuse them. Might make a good boat ramp.
Can you imagine how those guys feel about all of their work on the side walls being torn down to be replaced with structural concrete ? I take my work seriously, and would probably start drinking more than currently!
Government is well known for getting all building projects done ahead of schedule AND under budget, so you shouldn't worry. LOVE the boat ramp comment! Figures.
Good report Juan, thanks! Lately, I've been watching the main webcam about 6 hours a day (a guess, maybe it's more), and last night they added access to a 2nd road for the RCC trucks to use, so they don't need to wait on one to get off the single lane portion of the lower access road by returning to the plant on a higher road, bypassing that narrow section. All three dump trucks are moving RCC more quickly now, and as they said, as fast as the plant can crank out the mix, it's loaded, and it's off to the spillway to get the tires washed... 🤗
I can't imagine the Shotcrete & RCC walls will actually be "replaced" Juan, but rather a structural concrete facing added. That would make more sense, removing what's there now would be way too much wasted work, when a good face would surely do the trick. BUT, not being an engineer, I don't know for certain that would be as strong as the lower spillway walls that are constructed around steel beams. I also don't know how far into the ground the beams are pounded, if at all, because we didn't see any of that kind of equipment in use down there where/when they put in the pre-made rebar wall structures. Perhaps the beams were placed well before I started watching this closely.
But, we can only presume they have an excellent plan from all the engineers, and will finish up the project with something long-lasting enough for many generations to not ever need to worry about it. We'll also see how the aeration works on the expected cavitation, which is what you probably anticipated in envisioning a test run. But, they need water high enough to have some to go through the gates, and by that time, they also need to be dang sure it'll work in case of heavy water-producing weather.
It's all absolutely fascinating for this old farm boy, regardless! 🤠
See construction tour series...I asked that question about the RCC walls-said they'd take em all the way down so they could build the drains correctly under the walls.
Thanks, Juan! Wow, well then it looks like that webcam is going to be a lot of fun to watch for quite some time to come, then!!! Okay man, onward & keep up the great work! I'm going to keep watching all of this amazing stuff, including yours, there's simply nothing much better for safe entertainment at home. 😎
Thx Juan! Maybe the boat ramp isn't being built so close for security reasons?
Sounds like they want to build one that's usable down to 700 feet so they don't have to inconvenience boaters for another year.
If that was the case it would've been shut down right after 9/11. There's really not much danger from high explosives from where the explosives could be detonated from. even the bridge over the spillway that was used to get to the boat ramp there was little danger from a terrorist attack. Moving the boat ramp to another location would be to alleviate those fears as well as having a safer boat ramp. The one at the dam is quite steep and many a vehicle has gone into the lake over the years because of that.
I recently learned of the Brushy Fork coal sludge dam which is 900' and is growing still. Why doesn't it get credit for being the tallest dam in the U.S.?
Woohoo! Never been this early before! Edited to add: A press conference without any mention by the mainstream media of the much ballyhooed "green spot"? They must be slipping!
Only 3 of us on the line today! Must be chasing the president in PR....
I think the liberal agenda (so called) mainstream media has shifted gears to "ban guns" after the Las Vegas shooting, while totally ignoring the shooting in a predominantly white church in Tennessee by a black guy. Hopefully the "green spot" will come back soon and give the simple minded media fodder for their doom & gloom predictions so they can keep their ratings up.
6012 th
They have given up trying to report this story in the face of your journalistic integrity.
What? No green spot questions this round??? :P