Dams. They’re everywhere! According to National Geographic, there are about 90,000 dams in the United States. And, just like people, they age. And when they age, they start falling apart. Recent news has been inundated with California’s Oroville Dam and the evacuation of nearly 200,000 people that took place over the weekend due to a failing spillway. If the Oroville Dam’s spillway were to fail, the results would be catastrophic. And, just this past weekend, we’ve seen that such a failure is very plausible. So what about the thousands of other dams across the nation? Herein lies the problem. Many of the dams dotting the countryside were constructed as low-hazard dams, put in place to protect agricultural land; land that was, at that time, undeveloped. Now, however, cities have since expanded and the formerly undeveloped land is now the home to thousands (if not millions). In fact, Oroville (for which the dam is named) has practically doubled in size since the dam was constructed. [caption id="attachment_21513" align="aligncenter" width="590"]
Heavy water flow at the Oroville Dam spillway - Photo by Florence Low, California Department of Water Resources[/caption] How Old is Old? Dams don’t seem to age as well as people (so consider yourself lucky you were born a human and not a dam), but despite that flaw, they can still live for quite some time, albeit a little fragile. Only 4.5% of all U.S. dams were built since the year 2000 (4,000 dams). The oldest, however, were built before 1900 (2.8%). Most, however, were built between 1950 and 1980. And those are the ones considered old. The average age is 52, according to USA Today. Getting up there in age, but not quite ready for retirement. Perhaps we could squeeze just a few more years of work out of them… Still, because of how dams age, The problem with keeping these dams in operation is that nearly 15,500 dams are high-hazard. That means if these dams were to break, at least one person would be killed, but many more would be likely (the term “high-hazard” actually has no relation to the dam’s actual condition). Add that to the fact that “nearly 1 in 5 lack an emergency action plan,” and countless people are living in very dangerous conditions – most likely without even knowing it! USA Today reported that only three states – Louisiana, Maine, and Tennessee – have emergency plans in place for all high-hazard dams. It would appear that everywhere else is, well…hosed. Fortunately, there are ways to prepare. If we look at the Oroville Dam evacuation, there are some important lessons to be learned that will help you be safe should you be faced with a similar predicament.
Heavy water flow at the Oroville Dam spillway - Photo by Florence Low, California Department of Water Resources[/caption] How Old is Old? Dams don’t seem to age as well as people (so consider yourself lucky you were born a human and not a dam), but despite that flaw, they can still live for quite some time, albeit a little fragile. Only 4.5% of all U.S. dams were built since the year 2000 (4,000 dams). The oldest, however, were built before 1900 (2.8%). Most, however, were built between 1950 and 1980. And those are the ones considered old. The average age is 52, according to USA Today. Getting up there in age, but not quite ready for retirement. Perhaps we could squeeze just a few more years of work out of them… Still, because of how dams age, The problem with keeping these dams in operation is that nearly 15,500 dams are high-hazard. That means if these dams were to break, at least one person would be killed, but many more would be likely (the term “high-hazard” actually has no relation to the dam’s actual condition). Add that to the fact that “nearly 1 in 5 lack an emergency action plan,” and countless people are living in very dangerous conditions – most likely without even knowing it! USA Today reported that only three states – Louisiana, Maine, and Tennessee – have emergency plans in place for all high-hazard dams. It would appear that everywhere else is, well…hosed. Fortunately, there are ways to prepare. If we look at the Oroville Dam evacuation, there are some important lessons to be learned that will help you be safe should you be faced with a similar predicament.
- Get an Emergency Kit
- A Full Tank
- A Place to Stay