DISASTER Lake Lure NC (and other SE dams) -- Dam Failure Imminent (Update, Lake Lure is stable, Nolichucky is NOT)

155 arty

Veteran Member
Possibility of cascading failures here. We had a dam fail by me about 20 years ago and that was a big worry as there were two further dams downstream and the head dam failed and they were worrying about the others not holding but they did.
Used to fish in almost identical spot right there in video with my grandfather in 1968 70 or there bouts ....some great memories came back when I saw that
 

Countrymouse

Country exile in the city
They built the dams good back in the day. Today the lowest bidder gets the job.
In looking at the Wikepedia pic of it, it appears it did not have sluice gates--only spillways (at the sides--if I am using / understanding those terms correctly) for power generation, until silt-buildup made it impossible to generate power. But the front of the dam looks like a solid wall. And yes--technical knowhow back then, quality materials--and pride in one's work.
 

Kayak

Adrenaline Junkie
In looking at the Wikepedia pic of it, it appears it did not have sluice gates--only spillways (at the sides--if I am using / understanding those terms correctly) for power generation, until silt-buildup made it impossible to generate power. But the front of the dam looks like a solid wall. And yes--technical knowhow back then, quality materials--and pride in one's work.
It never generated much power, so at some point, it was no longer economically feasible to do the maintenance to keep it a working power plant. And yes, it was designed for the water to flow over the top, but the activity at the sides shouldn't be happening. If it holds, they'll have to do some serious work to shore the sides up.
 

energy_wave

Has No Life - Lives on TB

The Aftermath of the Helene flooding of Erwin Day 1​

It's been a solemn morning as my friend Michael Baker and our group joined first responders early at dawn in Erwin to start the long process of surveying damage so plans of action can be implemented. We've pledged our full support over the next few weeks documenting with photos and video for the town of Erwin and an other municipality (Elizabethton, Hampton, Greene County) that we can be of help to. Please pray as we met several families today that had suffered total losses. Now is the time to donate anything that can be of help. #erwin #elizabethtontn #rebuild #ErwinStrong #Standwithcommunity

Rt 11:16

 

Kayak

Adrenaline Junkie
To recap, the three dams everyone is talking about:

Nolichucky Dam in Greeneville, TN -- still being watched, but the river has peaked and is going down -- TVA has not given the all clear, but says their people are assessing it to decide whether to do so

Waterville/Walters Dam near Waynesville, NC -- was never officially in imminent danger, gossip about it started when everything downstream flooded when Duke Energy opened the floodgates (It's the Walters Dam holding back Waterville Lake, so it gets called by both names)

Lake Lure Dam in Lake Lure, NC -- no longer considered at risk of failing, local traffic is being allowed back in the area
 

packyderms_wife

Neither here nor there.
To recap, the three dams everyone is talking about:

Nolichucky Dam in Greeneville, TN -- still being watched, but the river has peaked and is going down -- TVA has not given the all clear, but says their people are assessing it to decide whether to do so

Waterville/Walters Dam near Waynesville, NC -- was never officially in imminent danger, gossip about it started when everything downstream flooded when Duke Energy opened the floodgates (It's the Walters Dam holding back Waterville Lake, so it gets called by both names)

Lake Lure Dam in Lake Lure, NC -- no longer considered at risk of failing, local traffic is being allowed back in the area

@Kayak Thank you for posting legit updates!

I did hear from friends that are at Penland School of Craft, and they are fine, they cannot get out or in via the roads but everyone there is fine.
 

Kayak

Adrenaline Junkie

night driver

ESFP adrift in INTJ sea
More good news!

Water levels continue to fall at Nolichucky Dam in Greene Co., TN, and after a thorough review by our Dam Safety team, we have determined the dam is stable and secure. We are notifying local emergency management agencies that we are transitioning to an advanced monitoring mode of the dam and exiting the emergency condition.

View: https://twitter.com/TVAnews/status/1840121834248761634
YAY HOO!!!
 

mudlogger

Veteran Member
Losing the house is catastrophic...I'm thinking more of the folks trapped in Asheville.
I will occasionally ask someone if they have enough food in their house for 2 weeks, if for some reason they can't go to the store. Most go, um, yeah, what about 4 weeks, or your kid and the grands show up?

We've been talking about the port closures, and how that might affect needed supplies, but for I-40 to just be gone...luckily we're not in the dead of winter right now.
 

homecanner1

Veteran Member
This is why if you have a baby if at all possible you breastfeed till they wean. Mom is the sanitary, temp regulated foodsource. Comments from locals are sobering and sad.

Direct friends and family in the region to check in on her facebook page as their power gets restored. Her thread is operating as a place to relay messages. She and James took a load of supplies over to Cocke Co earlier today with volunteers for distribution.

921D426F-0888-48AF-A637-9A8AC92F3CA5.jpeg

The migrants slashing truck tires IS relevant as those trucks are out of commission till tires replaced, food supplies will be coming from Western TN and Central KY to the flood disaster zones.

Dispatchers have notified truckers what is going on at truckstops, extortion of $50 each cash to park and "watch" the trucks overnight.

9BA5045C-D9BB-4600-9993-D22DD63F6BDC.jpeg
 
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Kayak

Adrenaline Junkie
I'm still watching Douglas Dam because it makes me nervous. Several large rivers flow into the reservoir, and when it leaves the dam it's still the French Broad River, but within a couple of miles it merges with another river and becomes the head of the Tennessee. It's an old dam (aren't they all at this point? Still, it's 80 years old) and there was a lot of bragging about it being built super-rapid fast, 382 days from breaking ground to creating electricity, which means the concrete didn't likely have enough time to properly cure.

No one is saying it's at risk. There are lots of complaints of downstream flooding because every gate is wide open, but no one is even hinting that it won't hold. This dam has always given me the heeby jeebies though, just traveling near it -- there's a bridge that crosses the river just downstream from it and... well. We'll just say I'm watching it.


The two elevation numbers are the reservoir behind the dam and then the river it dumps into. TVA gives the past 48 hours of data, and I'm showing the oldest and newest, just for the record.
1727619536479.png

1727619579958.png

So, the reservoir is sixteen feet higher, when it was already high, and the river is nine feet higher.

And here is their short term prediction, which tells us the reservoir is only going to go a few feet higher than it is now.

1727619693847.png

Mostly, this makes me feel better, so I figured I'd share it.
 

energy_wave

Has No Life - Lives on TB
New video from drones

Chimney Rock, NC DESTROYED By Massive Hurricane Helene Flood 9/29/2024​

No other words to describe the situation in North Carolina other than devastating. A large portion of Chimney Rock, NC have been completely destroyed and cut off from communication with rescues ongoing this morning. The air reveals the extent of the damage.

Rt 10:06

 

Knoxville's Joker

Has No Life - Lives on TB
For an interactive map of North Carolina roads check here:

 

Kayak

Adrenaline Junkie
For the record, it seems to have leveled off at Douglas Dam and is slowly heading back down.


1727661179881.png


The Chickamauga Dam in Chattanooga is wide open -- no flooding here, but they're preparing for all of this water to make its way down the Tennessee River. The next three days, it shows we'll be able to match inflow with outflow, but I'm guessing that won't last. I assume our water will rise a few feet, but that's fine. The riverwalk will be underwater, but it was designed for that, and it won't be the first time it's happened. This is what the dam system was designed to do -- keep flooding from happening all the way down the river. The mountains were just inundated with three or four feet of water, and then all of that water drained into the valleys. Nothing could've stopped that from being catastrophic.

We absolutely need some infrastructure work on the dam system, though.
 

Countrymouse

Country exile in the city
For the record, it seems to have leveled off at Douglas Dam and is slowly heading back down.

The mountains were just inundated with three or four feet of water, and then all of that water drained into the valleys. Nothing could've stopped that from being catastrophic.
Thank you for that, Kayak.

While we are all (or claim to be) Preppers here, the near to 'blaming-the-victim' comments I've seen on the Helene thread about "WHY didn't they prepare more?!?" are, in my opinion, totally un-called for.

I seriously doubt THEY would be prepared for what amounts to (no exaggeration) a tsunami suddenly hitting their home--or washing away their ENTIRE city---or COUNTY.
 

Knoxville's Joker

Has No Life - Lives on TB
Thank you for that, Kayak.

While we are all (or claim to be) Preppers here, the near to 'blaming-the-victim' comments I've seen on the Helene thread about "WHY didn't they prepare more?!?" are, in my opinion, totally un-called for.

I seriously doubt THEY would be prepared for what amounts to (no exaggeration) a tsunami suddenly hitting their home--or washing away their ENTIRE city---or COUNTY.
And a river crest that exceeded historical records. That you can't really prepare for. All one can do is hope their home is built way above the flood plain.
 

Kayak

Adrenaline Junkie

Chimney Rock, NC DESTROYED By Massive Hurricane Helene Flood 9/29/2024​

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1G7J6JvBLQg

RT10:07
Thanks for that. Some good shots of the dam. Seeing how it overtopped the road to the left (stage left, so to speak), I completely understand why they were evacuating people downstream. My guess is they'll need to do some shoring up on that side, but otherwise, it seems to be in decent shape.

That being said, water is not running through the turbines. That might be because they don't want to staff it until the engineers can give the all-clear for it to run, or it could be there are other issues. Most likely, it's because of all the debris in the water upstream, or some combination of all factors.

Or, another factor, it's possible all the transmission lines are down so there's no need in generating electricity.
 

Knoxville's Joker

Has No Life - Lives on TB
Thanks for that. Some good shots of the dam. Seeing how it overtopped the road to the left (stage left, so to speak), I completely understand why they were evacuating people downstream. My guess is they'll need to do some shoring up on that side, but otherwise, it seems to be in decent shape.

That being said, water is not running through the turbines. That might be because they don't want to staff it until the engineers can give the all-clear for it to run, or it could be there are other issues. Most likely, it's because of all the debris in the water upstream, or some combination of all factors.

Or, another factor, it's possible all the transmission lines are down so there's no need in generating electricity.
The generators may have gotten damaged in the process of things.
 
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