British military called in to stop dam collapsing and flooding town

[rooster59]

British military called in to stop dam collapsing and flooding town

By Phil Noble

 

A Chinook helicopter carries sand bags on top of the dam during a flight over Whaley Bridge after a nearby reservoir was damaged by flooding, Britain August 2, 2019. REUTERS/Phil Noble

 

WHALEY BRIDGE, England (Reuters) - A British military helicopter dropped sacks of ballast onto the outer slope of a reservoir dam in central England on Friday in an effort to prevent it from collapsing and flooding the town below.

 

Police were evacuating more than 6,000 residents of Whaley Bridge, telling them to take pets and any medication they needed with them after the dam was badly damaged during heavy rains.

 

Prime Minister Boris Johnson visited the area on Friday evening, meeting affected residents and emergency services. "I flew over the dam and it looks pretty scary," he said.

 

Officials said the dam, holding back 300 million gallons of water, was in danger of failing, putting lives at risk.

 

"The structural integrity of the dam wall is still at a critical level and there is still a substantial risk to life should the dam wall fail," the assistant chief constable of Derbyshire police, Kem Mehmet, told a news conference.

 

Engineers have been pumping water out of the reservoir to get the level down, reduce pressure on the wall and allow repairs to begin.

 

Police said the level had fallen by 0.5 metres (20 inches) but still needed to drop by several more metres until it was below the damage - an operation that could take several days.

 

A Royal Air Force Chinook helicopter was shifting 400 tonnes of aggregate - a mixture of sand, gravel and stone - onto the reservoir wall to reinforce it.

 

Evacuated residents would be allowed to briefly return to their homes to collect animals and belongings under police escort.

 

Britain's Environment Agency issued a severe flood warning for the area, saying river levels in the River Goyt, which runs through the town, could rise rapidly.

 

Heavy rain this week led to flash floods in areas across northern England causing bridges to collapse and road closures.

Britain's Met Office said on Wednesday downpours had led to 50 mm (2 inches) of rain falling in just one hour.

 

Gary Lane, the Royal Air Force liaison officer at the scene, said the helicopter only had a narrow space to drop the sacks of aggregate to avoid putting pressure on the dam.

 

"It's a bit like a big Lego block that we're building, we've got a foundation in there and we're carrying on building each on top of each other," he said.

 

(Reporting by Phil Noble; Writing by Andrew MacAskill and William James; Editing by Janet Lawrence and Raissa Kasolowsky)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-08-03

Follow Thaivisa on LINE for breaking Thailand news and visa info

 

[bluesofa]

22 minutes ago, rooster59 said:

British military called in to stop dam collapsing and flooding town

There must be some irony in that, given role of the RAF in The Dambusters in WW2.

[Justgrazing]

Seen some of this on TV .. hrs before it was breached water was running over the top so full was the dam .. and the Chinooks dropping bags of core to plug the breach was quite impressive .. 

[wgdanson]

From the pictures on BBC News etc, it doesn't look like the concrete slabs which have slipped are holding back any water. It is the clay core and earth which are the actual dam. Look at the cross section diagram on BBC news.

And knowing Whaley Bridge quite well, most of the residencies are higher than the reservoir/dam level. OK, the main street will be obliterated but most houses will survive.

 

 

[Basil B]

11 minutes ago, Justgrazing said:

Seen some of this on TV .. hrs before it was breached water was running over the top so full was the dam .. and the Chinooks dropping bags of core to plug the breach was quite impressive .. 

It was the spillway, looks like water has leaked through the concrete and undermined the spillway, the fire brigade is pumping water out, must be like emptying a bath with a teaspoon.

Surprised the dam does not have a sluice gate to drain the reservoir in an emergency. 

 

[wgdanson]

7 minutes ago, Basil B said:

It was the spillway, looks like water has leaked through the concrete and undermined the spillway, the fire brigade is pumping water out, must be like emptying a bath with a teaspoon.

Surprised the dam does not have a sluice gate to drain the reservoir in an emergency. 

 

It does have one at the far right hand side, and one in the middle of the wall fitted in 1971. Wikipedia the dam and you will read that it has had several problems over its 180 year life. Look at it on Google Earth too,

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toddbrook_Reservoir

Edited August 3, 2019 by wgdanson

[Justgrazing]

10 minutes ago, Basil B said:

It was the spillway, looks like water has leaked through the concrete and undermined the spillway, the fire brigade is pumping water out, must be like emptying a bath with a teaspoon.

Surprised the dam does not have a sluice gate to drain the reservoir in an emergency. 

 

Yes by all account's water is being pumped out this weekend and tributaries that flow into it are being dammed also to try and reduce the level .. Apparently another ideas being considered if it is suitable is the spraying of a particular type of concrete into the breach once its been filled with more core .. There will be a tribe of engineers and surveyors at the site this weekend to assess it all .. 

Edited August 3, 2019 by Justgrazing
Sp

[bluesofa]

1 minute ago, Justgrazing said:

Yes by all account's water is being pumped out this weekend and tributaries that flow into it are being dammed also to try and reduce the level .. Apparently another ideas being considered if it is suitable is the spraying of a particular type of concrete into the breach once its been filled with more core .. There will be a tribe of engineers and surveyors at the site this weekend to assess it all .. 

I hope they don't around all day eating somtam - ha ha!

[Justgrazing]

13 minutes ago, bluesofa said:

I hope they don't around all day eating somtam - ha ha!

Actually its not lost on me that parts of Britain have a surplus of water while a lot of Thailand is bone dry .. Maybe if Thailand send some molasses spraying drones over to just pick up water then two birds can be killed with one stone .. Obviously they'll need some stop's on the way to change Batteries and have a rest and they best let Air traffic control know when they get to blighty lest they want them shot down .. There might be a few more minor details to iron out but this could be an example of Int' cooperation in the face of global warming stuff and a P R coup ( sorry ) for the new admin '.. 

Edited August 3, 2019 by Justgrazing
Sp

[evadgib]

Quote

Wing Commander Gary Lane, the RAF liaison officer at the scene said:

"Once the call from the civilian authorities came, we rapidly deployed an RAF Chinook and support crews to provide this vital support. We will continue to use the skills of our highly trained air and groundcrew and the astonishing lift capability of the Chinook to assist in ensuring the safety of the public".

The Chinook’s crew were also accompanied by a joint helicopter support squadron deployed from RAF Benson and an RAF Regional Liaison Support Officer. This military support was requested and provided under the “Military Aid To Civil Authorities” (MACA) process.

RAF Chinook assists Derbyshire Police at Toddbrook Reservoir

 

Here's a recent training run:

 

Edited August 3, 2019 by evadgib

[Basil B]

Luckily the Reservoir was only a feeder for the canal system so no problem with water supply or hydro power, so apart from a few "weeked Captain Pugwash's" there will be no issue with draining the reservoir as long as the do not drain it to fast and cause flooding downstream.

[Basil B]

38 minutes ago, Justgrazing said:

There will be a tribe of engineers and surveyors at the site this weekend to assess it all

I suspect the damage to the spillway extends all the way across to a lesser degree, needs a lot of work.

[Bredbury Blue]

Been flooding in the local area this week with one month's rain falling in 24 hours. Lyme Hall gardens a right mess, Bramhall, Poynton, Romiley, etc. Rain expected on Sunday could be a big problem for the dam. PM Boris was there yesterday which indicates the seriousness of this.

My village is 10 miles downstream of the dam on the river Goyt.

 

For those unfamiliar with the river Goyt the dam flows out in to, it meets the river Tame at the Bredbury / Stockport boundary and forms a small river called the Mersey. 

Edited August 3, 2019 by Bredbury Blue

[Baerboxer]

2 hours ago, bluesofa said:

There must be some irony in that, given role of the RAF in The Dambusters in WW2.

 

Should've used he Fleet Air Arm or Army Air Corps instead!

[CGW]

2 hours ago, Basil B said:

Surprised the dam does not have a sluice gate to drain the reservoir in an emergency. 

They could learn a thing or two from Thailand, be a water hose ban next month! 

[7by7]

Whaley Bridge dam: Storms expected as repairs continue

[7by7]

3 hours ago, CGW said:

They could learn a thing or two from Thailand, be a water hose ban next month! 

 

So how would Thailand cope with 2 weeks worth of rain falling in one hour?

 

OK, not in Derbyshire, but the amount of rain there was well above the norm and in this particular area it all drains into the reservoir.

 

The spillway simply couldn't cope: https://metro.co.uk/video/reservoir-collapses-prompts-evacuation-whaley-bridge-1977670/?ito=vjs-link

 

[CGW]

1 hour ago, 7by7 said:

So how would Thailand cope with 2 weeks worth of rain falling in one hour?

Quite well at this time, certainly in my area as there is plenty of storage available due to empty reservoirs!

[7by7]

2 hours ago, CGW said:

Quite well at this time, certainly in my area as there is plenty of storage available due to empty reservoirs!

 Big difference between the effects of rain falling in an area with low to dry rivers and empty reservoirs and rain falling onto already sodden ground with overflowing rivers and full reservoirs!

[Lokie]

Sunday night will be a bit sketchy going off the weather expected in area... as been said it is not the concrete that holds the dam it is the Clay core in centre sandwiched between earthworks each side.

 

Structural Engineers are concerned as to how much unseen damage the heavy rain and force of water has done to the integrity of the structure.  

 

In WWII RAF 617 Squadron used Derwent Dam not far from this dam as the Crow flies to train for 'Operation Chastise' in May 1943 the Dam busters raid; Attack on the dams in the German Ruhr  (Derwent is of a similar design also a Slipway - allows water to flow over the top but faced with stone) pic from last year when I was there on my Triumph

   

 

[elliss]

11 hours ago, Justgrazing said:

Actually its not lost on me that parts of Britain have a surplus of water while a lot of Thailand is bone dry .. Maybe if Thailand send some molasses spraying drones over to just pick up water then two birds can be killed with one stone .. Obviously they'll need some stop's on the way to change Batteries and have a rest and they best let Air traffic control know when they get to blighty lest they want them shot down .. There might be a few more minor details to iron out but this could be an example of Int' cooperation in the face of global warming stuff and a P R coup ( sorry ) for the new admin '.. 

 

    Visas mate , big problem @thai immi ..

 

Edited August 3, 2019 by elliss

[wgdanson]

17 hours ago, CGW said:

They could learn a thing or two from Thailand, be a water hose ban next month! 

True, and what the UK can learn from Thailand's hose pipe bans is IGNORE THEM !    LOL

[geoffbezoz]

Listening to Sky news this morning they said that like this reservoir there are another 257 dams similar to this in the UK built in the 19th century. Whilst at the time they were at the forefront of civil engineering now of course  they are now potentially at risk given the climatic changes being witnessed.  Now that is not to say any of them will fail but just an example of how 19th century engineering technology has been overtaken by climatic change and a better understanding of civil engineering principles.

[StevieAus]

2 hours ago, geoffbezoz said:

Listening to Sky news this morning they said that like this reservoir there are another 257 dams similar to this in the UK built in the 19th century. Whilst at the time they were at the forefront of civil engineering now of course  they are now potentially at risk given the climatic changes being witnessed.  Now that is not to say any of them will fail but just an example of how 19th century engineering technology has been overtaken by climatic change and a better understanding of civil engineering principles.

It has never ceased to amaze me what was achieved  during the period you mention almost as if there was a gigantic leap forward in knowledge.

I have always had an interest in the canal system and have visited some of the places where the engineering feats are amazing particularly when most of it was built with hard labor and sweat.

[geoffbezoz]

14 minutes ago, StevieAus said:

It has never ceased to amaze me what was achieved  during the period you mention almost as if there was a gigantic leap forward in knowledge.

I have always had an interest in the canal system and have visited some of the places where the engineering feats are amazing particularly when most of it was built with hard labor and sweat.

Interesting by describing how these early dams were built with basically human labour and wheelbarrows in the early 19th century, of course steam was in its infancy as a motive force for earth moving machines. All these great manual feats then would not of course have been achieved without the big influx of the Irish navvy. The UK canal systems were built in the 18th and 19th centuries are great and then become obsolete  due to the invention of steam engines. But having said that the canal system was not new having been  developed elsewhere over 1000 years prior to the UK, but nonetheless there is something about being able to navigate say from Birmingham to London now in an electric canal boat far away from the madding  motorway crowds, although sometimes not that far away. Actually that is only one of two things I miss about my home country.

Edited August 4, 2019 by geoffbezoz

[evadgib]

12 hours ago, Lokie said:

Sunday night will be a bit sketchy going off the weather expected in area... as been said it is not the concrete that holds the dam it is the Clay core in centre sandwiched between earthworks each side.

 

Structural Engineers are concerned as to how much unseen damage the heavy rain and force of water has done to the integrity of the structure.  

 

In WWII RAF 617 Squadron used Derwent Dam not far from this dam as the Crow flies to train for 'Operation Chastise' in May 1943 the Dam busters raid; Attack on the dams in the German Ruhr  (Derwent is of a similar design also a Slipway - allows water to flow over the top but faced with stone) pic from last year when I was there on my Triumph

I have had the pleasure of witnessing a commemorative flypast there in the 90s while trekking in the Peak District.

 

This clip is a little more recent...

 

Edited August 4, 2019 by evadgib

[billd766]

21 hours ago, Baerboxer said:

 

Should've used he Fleet Air Arm or Army Air Corps instead!

The FAA and the AAC don't have any heavy lift helicopters such as the Chinook. They don't need them as that IS a job for the RAF.

[billd766]

15 minutes ago, evadgib said:

I have had the pleasure of witnessing a commemorative flypast there in the 90s while trekking in the Peak District.

 

This clip is a little more recent...

 

What great sound those RR Merlin engines make.

[Thongkorn]

11 hours ago, billd766 said:

What great sound those RR Merlin engines make.

i had the pleasure of seeing the Canadian and British Lancaster's together , The Canadian one sounded diffrent due to having diffrent engines,