A while ago (like around the beginning of this month), divers discovered a 65-foot crack on the 50-year-old Wanapum dam; as a result, to relieve pressure, they had to lower water by about 20 feet, causing a drawdown. More info here: http://www.dailyrecordnews.com/memb...cle_f61b31f6-a55e-11e3-a3f2-0019bb2963f4.html http://www.dailyrecordnews.com/memb...cle_a490a5d6-a63b-11e3-85d3-001a4bcf887a.html They're trying to think of something, though, because they can't keep it like this. Here are some of my personal photos, before and after the discovery: Before - November 7, 2013: Spoiler After - March 8, 2014 and March 15, 2014: Spoiler March 8, 2014: If you look closely enough where the hill and bridge starts, you can see that there's a dark line. That's how high the water usually is. March 15, 2014: If you look closely enough in the distance where the cliffs are, you can see a flowing body of water. That's where the river originally used to be before the dam was built. And here is a gallery of images: https://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2014/mar/03/wanapum-dam-drawdown/ For anyone interested, here is the history on Vantage: And then here's a video basically explaining the same thing as the two articles above:
I didn't watch any of the videos but I read most of the article. I'm a bit confused as to why this is an issue? D: they have to repair the crack correct? So why not just.. Fix it? Let loose some of that water (and pressure) and think of something a quick to fixit xD thats scary tho.
I don't live in Washington, but I live in Northern New England. It could be simply that it's too cold for it to be repaired right now. Right now, the East Coast is being HAMMERED by winter storms and cold weather. With that, there's no real way to seal it without it being in danger of making the situation worse. I don't call myself an expert, but that's my guess. It's going to be worse when the snow starts melting, too... If it's anything like what it's like up here.
