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Major Dam Flood Crisis Along The Missouri
Six old, huge, faulty dams that normally have reserve space for spring snow melt are nearly full now before the spring floods start. St. Louis could be flooded.Four of the nation's 10 largest reservoirs are along the Missouri River Fort Peck, Fort Randall, Garrison and Oahe. Three of these had less than five feet of total storage space behind the floodgates at the end of May. With a combined height of 700 feet, these three dams are nearly full. Melting snow surely will complete the task. Effective flood control from six large dams is no longer an option. As a Corps of Engineers representative said, "It now moves us into uncharted territory." Here is a likely scenario: Garrison, Oahe and three other downstream earthen dams would have to catch and hold a massive amount of water, an area covering nearly 250 square miles 100 feet deep. But earthen dams, when overtopped with floodwater, do not stand. They break and erode away, usually within an hour. All are full. There is a possibility a failure of Fort Peck Dam could lead to a domino-like collapse of all five downstream dams. It probably would wreck every bridge, highway, pipeline and power line and split the heartland of the nation, leaving a gap 1,500 miles wide. Countless sewage treatment plants, toxic waste sites and even Superfund sites would be flushed downstream. The death toll and blow to our economy could be ghastly. Posted by: Anonymoose 2011-06-08 |
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