In this editorial from today, the spillway by Folsom Dam will allow a huge release of water through the Parkway when flood conditions prevail, and that is good, but what is even better is to have the Auburn Dam come on line, reducing the possibility of flood conditions and the erosion of the Parkway’s integrity when fast and high water has to be let loose to run through it.
Here is an excerpt.
Editorial:
Cooperation -- and a cheaper Folsom Dam fix
Published 12:01 am PDT Sunday, June 18, 2006
Engineers from two federal agencies not known for cooperating continue to make progress on a fix for Folsom Dam that could save Sacramento from a great flood.
As you may recall, plans to modify the river outlets on the dam hit a snag last year when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reviewed the bids and learned the project could cost about $2 billion, almost three times the original estimated cost. This was a big setback, since the easiest way to quickly increase Sacramento's level of flood protection is to give dam operators the ability to release extra water in advance of a storm.
What was the problem? Modifying the dam outlets -- should we call them the damn outlets? -- would involve contractors doing complicated underwater work, with a fair amount of risk and liability.
As a result, the Corps and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which operates Folsom, went back to the drawing board.
The apparent solution is a 1,700-foot-long concrete chute that could be built on the south side of the dam. This spillway would do the same job as expanding the river outlets, but it would be easier to build, and cheaper.
