TROUBLE ON THE COLORADO! Damaged Pipes FOUND Inside Glen Canyon Dam at Lake Powell  

*Learn more about the 1983 spillway cavitation* in our video *BEHIND THE DROUGHT 2* ▶ ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-J19iRm1xGEY.html Shout out to our *SUPERTHANKS* viewers for this month: *sammyhead ⚒3 | Juice_2288 | genebond991 | Bambisgf77* We are driven by viewers like YOU! Comment below and let us know what you'd like to see covered next ✍🤠 *👇👇👇*CONNECT WITH US AND WATCH RELATED VIDEOS HERE*👇👇👇* > MOJO EARTHWORKS SHOP (Etsy) mojoearthworks.etsy.com > Mojo Adventures MORE! (B-Roll Channel) youtube.com/@Mojo-Adventures > Instagram: @Mojo.Adventures instagram.com/mojo.adventures/ > Twitter (X): @MojoAdventure twitter.com/MojoAdventure > Driving music 🎶, Mojo Merch, NFTs & More!: linktr.ee/mojo.adventures *Watch related episodes:* Making it RAIN: Cloud Seeding the Desert: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-VsxTQy72XJk.html [Colorado River Watch #02] Wall Street Eyes BILLIONS in River Rights: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-OLJS9gMsBiQ.html Lake Mead UPDATE April 2024: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-B92MHwkuoXc.html [Colorado River Watch #01] California ALFAFA Farms: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-OLJS9gMsBiQ.html

Kicking the can down the road is how we operate in America today.

the best solution is NOT to build a metropolis in the middle of a desert.

Sounds like a Golden opportunity was missed in 2022 to make Overdue repairs and Necessary Upgrades …..

I have personally been inside 2 of the turbine outlet pipes at Carter's damn... They're massive in diameter 14 feet wide. While I was building scaffolding for the engineers to be able to put in new water flow and cavitation sensors in the pipes. They opened one of the 4 outlet pipes. We're 120 feet down in this damn and when they open that flow valve. You can feel the pip you're in vibrating while you hear nothing but the whoosh of water in the other outlet... Pretty scary Because it sounds like the water is coming thru the pipe you're in...

Thanks for this video! Shortsightedness combined with huge projects can result in massive problems, as you describe.

Restricting the use of water for golf courses would save billions of gallons of water. While residents and businesses are told to reduce usage to a gallons per address golf courses raise the gallons per person into the thousands.

All dams should have a sediment flush system. Hoover is one of them

Excellently presented and very informative! Thanks for sharing.

Excellent briefing! Subscribed. Jb.

the flaw was thinking that the dam can last so long, like everything else, there is a lifetime, sometimes shorter than expected.

Yikes! Thanks, love your channel.

Your videos are so informative. I have quite a few to catch up on. ❤

Wait… an infrastructure issue in the United States? No way?! The government always uses our taxes appropriately…

Nice informative video. They have to solve the water usage for the Colorado River.

Nice tight report. Good graphics. Subscribed. 👍

Fantastic content! Thank you for making this video.

If backpressure is what prevents the penstocks from cavitation damage. Then those 4 river outlets should have restrictor on the openings to create backpressure. Rather than flowing full blast, have a reduced volume flow and sustained backpressure. The outlets could have variable outlets to fine tune flow. And best of all it would only require construction on the 4 river outlets. I still wonder why Glen canyon has so much trouble now and in 83 when A much older Hoover dam took the spillways flow in stride. I was at Hoover in 83 and it was Breathtakeing. The depth, the trembling roar of the spillways. I had no idea that volume was so temporary.

Concrete technology has made huge advances since the construction of the dam.

Nice presentation

Any harmonic like a cavitation can be regulated with nested low-high forms. Just look at any river, like the Colorado, at Topsy Turvy past Cisco. Try experimenting on this and the solution will found. Pairs of high-low forms can elevate or depress fast moving water.

Colorado really needs to start releasing water into the Arkansas... Thing is so low we have to mow.the river in Kansas... Colorado needs to stop hording these rivers...

Wow. As an autistic obsessive researcher on all range of topics, I learned a lot from this. Great work on the vid.

Well done

Our infrastructure all over the US needs to be updated. But we don’t have money…

The river outlet works are not as described: "antique." They are a relatively new design compared to those at Hoover. They also were never designed to make releases that simulate a flood. That is a much more recent idea that was proposed decades after the dam was built. They are for low-level and emergency releases. The problem with discharging high flow while the reservoir is low is that there is not enough back-pressure on the valves to prevent cavitation within the pipes. They are at the limits of operation. Releasing the same flow with the reservoir at much higher levels would not likely cause cavitation issues because the valves would not be fully open, and a higher pressure would be present within the pipes upstream from the valves. Cavitation is the result of negative pressures developing in the pipe, and higher pressure can counteract its formation. The engineers from the 1950s were not likely as aware of cavitation issues or how to prevent them as engineers are today. Additionally, dam operators were not necessarily aware that cavitation could develop unless modern engineers did a study and recommended operational restrictions. The original engineers may not have proposed any restrictions to flow at low reservoir levels.

We could stop watering the lawns altogether!

Sonoluminescense is a mysterious problem, and it's odd that there aren't more definitive explanations and solutions to the problems encountered by it. Must be a really good reason.

Back to the drawing board. Not the first dam ever built with flaws that were not well understood in the design phase.

Cavitation…I learn so much from you guys! Seems pretty concerning to those of us who rely on Lake Mead’s water levels. I was hoping for a strong 2023 winter/snowpack up north of you. Turned out to be just ok, correct?

Lake Powell water levels won't drop below the River Outlet Bypass, when the reservoir is at that level leave them open and the river will continue flowing without causing cavitation problems in the pipes.

Thanks!

the best solution is use 40% less water and let the lake levels rise year after year

In my 30 years of water management I have seen cavation do this damage before . (what the erosion in the pipes is caused from) . The engineers surely are aware of this. Velocity of the water causes air bubbles and scrubs the surface and the air bubbles act like little explosions on the surface. With that said concrete pipes are not durable. 🤔 so maybe a liner of stronger steel or stainless liners be used. Just a thought.

This is from the 1983 incident at Glen Canyon. Remember, this involved the spillway tunnel, not the pipes they are speaking of now: The spillways at Glen Canyon Dam are located upstream of the dam and each spillway is controlled by two 40-foot by 52.5-foot radial gates. Flood releases through the spillways enter into steeply sloped (55 degrees below horizontal) spillway tunnels which connect to the downstream portion of the original diversion tunnels, which were used to divert the river during construction of the dam. A drawing of the spillway tunnel profile is shown on this page. Constructing the spillways in this way, where hundreds of linear feet of each 41-foot diameter diversion tunnel are repurposed, was both quicker and cheaper to construct. The tradeoff, however, was that the bend where the spillway tunnel meets the diversion tunnel created the potential for cavitation. This danger was known by Reclamation, with both Hoover Dam and Yellowtail Dam experiencing damage from cavitation in their similarly configured spillway tunnels (Hoover in 1941 and Yellowtail in 1967). The risk, however, was deemed to be minimal. According to W.L. Rusho, longtime public affairs officer for Reclamation, including the period during the Glen Canyon Dam incident, “A well-managed reservoir should almost never spill, and then only for very short periods, after which the cavitation could be repaired.” Early in the morning of June 6th, operators heard loud rumbling noises coming from the left spillway and observed material being ejected at the spillway outlet. The right spillway gates were opened, and the left gates were closed in order to allow for Reclamation engineers to access the tunnel spillway and assess the situation. What they saw was cavitation damage - chunks of concrete missing at the invert of the “elbow” - where the steeply-sloped spillway tunnel meets the horizontal diversion tunnel. For the following weeks, flows were primarily sent through the left spillway, and flows through the right spillway were held much lower. The right spillway tunnel was seen as being potentially more dangerous to the foundation of the dam because the right spillway tunnel “elbow” was nearer to the dam foundation than the left one, and as such the right tunnel posed a greater risk should cavitation damage reach the surrounding sandstone and spread horizontally. In late June, however, due to increased inflows, the operators were left with no choice but to pass more than 20,000 cfs through each of the spillways. The reservoir elevation peaked at 3708.4 feet, 6.6 feet below the top of dam in mid-July, after which the discharges through the spillways were throttled down and eventually the spillway gates were completely shut. Once the spillway tunnels were dewatered and inspections could be conducted, the extent of the damage was finally observed. Engineers saw a 32‑foot-deep, 40‑foot-wide and 180‑foot-long crater at the elbow of the left spillway tunnel. Repairs commenced immediately, requiring over 3,000 cubic yards of concrete to backfill and repair the damaged tunnel linings. Prior to the 1983 incident, engineers had identified the need to retrofit the spillway tunnels at Glen Canyon Dam with aeration slots as a cavitation control measure. However, the design had not been completed by the time the spillways were needed to pass the 1983 flood. Borrowing from their experience at Yellowtail Dam, Reclamation engineers designed air slots to be constructed while the spillway tunnels were being repaired. The air slots work by entraining air into the flowing water. This mixture of air and water is more compressible, which allows it to absorb the impact of the collapsing cavitation bubbles, thereby protecting the spillway tunnel surfaces from wear and damage caused by the cavitation. Repairs of the spillway tunnels were complete in time for the 1984 flood season, which marked another season of above-average flows. The spillways performed well and didn’t exhibit any signs of cavitation following the 1984 floods. It has been many years since the spillways at Glen Canyon Dam have flowed. Throughout this incident, the operators at Glen Canyon Dam were forced to make difficult, critical decisions without a full understanding of what was occurring within the spillway tunnels. When damage to the left spillway tunnel had occurred, inflows were still projected to rise and preventing damage to the spillways had long since ceased being a consideration. The goal had become to save Glen Canyon Dam from failing and sending a 500‑foot wall of water screaming down the Colorado River, overtopping Hoover Dam and other major dams downstream, and severely damaging the water supply to much of the arid southwest which depends on the dams and reservoirs along the Colorado River. Following this incident, Reclamation conducted detailed forensic investigations to better understand what exactly had occurred. The investigation identified the initiator of the cavitation to have been a 6.5 mm high calcite deposit which formed near the invert of the spillway tunnel. Another area of damage in the left spillway tunnel was found to have been caused by a failed epoxy patch which had been used to repair the hole left by a grout pipe⁷.

I essentially grew up on Lake Powell, as my family would camp every weekend in the summer in Farley Canyon up by Hite Marina. Nothing would please me more than to tear that damn dam down and start restoring the river to its former glory.

i wish they just did the same as last year and let the water rise. Califonia releases so much water... yet they take the most. Just feels like greed. Why can't they just lower the water released for 3 years... 7,500,000M is not efficient enough. should be much lower like 5M so both dams can survive into the future

Very informative video. Thanks! Question: are the diversion tunnels still in place (or could be re-opened?)

Cavitation can be mitigated by strategically placing breather holes along the overflow to prevent significant decreases in pressure.

Repair the damage, then construct, design straightener to cause water to flow in an laminar fashion reduce the flow per each discharge thus reducing turbulence, the straightener to be installed up stream of the down stream discharge points, reduce the flow, reducing flow due to past design errors

Very interesting. Is this a sediment problem this time or was there concrete lost in the tube? Either way is there an estimate for clean up/repair. My opinion would be to save the dams if at all possible. No dam means no water reserve. It also would mean alternative power. Reduced demand down stream seems to be the best solution for keeping both. California has the best options for alternative water sources either by conserving snow melt and or building desalination plants all along the SoCal coast.

2:43 The GIV gets everywhere

Good report. Indeed a problem with no easy... or inexpensive solution. This will encourage the dismantlers.

"Antique plumbing" ?? I remember a National Geographic article before the damming of Powel River. You made me feel old but rightfully so. My plumbing is in about the same condition.😏

Enjoyed content and length

Interesting

Une merveille de l'ingénierie Américaine....

Would it be possible to build a coffer dam around one spillway entrance, then build an additional gated bypass tunnel connecting the lake to the spillway at a low water level, then the spillway can be used at a much greater release rate instead of the river works?

All the CA demands can be lessened by making CA finish the initial planned # of reservoirs and capacity. CA turning to desalination and aquifer replenishment will also lessen the needs. The power needs can be lessened through the SW by requiring every new home to have solar power production 10% above their baseline usage reducing the need for power from the dams. Ending the mismanagement in CA will retard the water requirements leaving more for the inland states. OR too could do a better job of water management and sell water to NV. Water could be better managed along the Mississippi and its tributaries creating more reservoirs and saving flood waters via pumping to those reservoirs and into the aquifers. I do not buy into the shortage of water knowing how it has been mismanaged. The Salton Sea in CA is below sea level and could be filled to sea level with water from the Sea of Cortez which would increase the moisture from evaporation and supply a source for desalination. The power could come from the sun that is shining in the deserts most days. The populations of all these water concern states could be reduced by 10s of millions just be removing non-citizens (illegals being the most impactful). Every dry lake in the desert near the Sea of Cortez and the Salton Sea could be filled with salt water. More than this could be done, but I suspect these alone would have a huge impact.

This is why you don't cut corporate taxes.

Time to install a new dam and totally open the existing to put equal pressure on both sides.

USA USA glad our infrastructure is in tip top condition.

Infrastructure is not forever , while kicking the can down the road is ubiquitous. Eventually, one or the other has to give .

How much water gets taken out of the river now before it gets to the Dams?

Aloha hugs 🤗 smooth Videi awesome editing

Is there a type of metal that would be hard/strong enough to withstand cavitation if used to line the riverworks spillways?

They should have know ahead of time this would happen!

US was supposed to get water from Canada 60 years ago with network of canals and pipes

large scale atmospheric venting and longer lower pitch runs. Cavitation is from fast moving water and or vacuum pressure. Open top spiral out from top to bottom gutters getting wider as you go down would help with the speed of the water as well. Smaller inlet then outlet/run would get your less energy as area increases pressure decreases.

You'll be hard pushed to find a material that can support that flow rate of water, causing that much caviation without suffering damage.

Do not, my friends, become addicted to water. It will take hold of you, and you will resent its absence.

Going to be a bad year. The heat will evorapate water to. Big problem 🤞

Carbon fiber lining to protect the inside of the piping perhaps

Question is why are penstock inlets half way up the dam when if the penstock inlet was at the bottom original river flow level it would produce more power for less water and the need for sediment release valves wouldnt really be needed might be time to drill new inlets from the low side into the dam

Difficult and complicated problem without an obvious solution.

You build one dam in front of the other dam to dam up the river while you finish the new dam. Does anyone game any more dam questions?

Sorry I’m in Australia, is glen canyon dam the Hoover dam ?

Does it make a big difference - other than buying us just some few more years till the inevitable happens - to draw down Lake Powell to 3370 feet (and after that, outflows will automatically reduce to match inflows) instead of reducing outflows now and keeping the lake slightly above 3490?

Far too many people taking water from the Colorado River. Especially CA.

Un-dam it. Let nature take over.

Like so many other engineering projects in the 20th century I guess the environment impact study prior to the Glen Canyon being built didn’t factor in the huge SW drought the last decade.

So it is fair to say if a situation arose when massive flooding happened and this dam had to release massive amounts of water for an extended time , the dam may fail at the pipes

The sediment problem is easy to solve. Just let people know there could be gold in the sediment. Free for the taking. They just have to move the sediment to a designated place. They'll have that sucker dug out fast.

You'd think they would be sleeved with replaceable steel.

Sam Kinison said it best, if you want to help these people send them uhauls. Live where the food is

Should be a law against cavitation. Limit water to 11 m/s.

Baffle the vortices- use internal tube floats as interrupters

Why does this problem occur in the bypass tunnels and not the penstocks?

Would it be feasible to install a controlled siphon over the top of the dam ?

Multiple siphons running over the road way. 12° x as many as required. A simple priming pump on the other side. Once it's flowing, move to the next. Some basic scaffolding will have to be made.

Edward Abbey's prayer for a "strategic earthquake" was not answered, so perhaps cavitation will persist to the point where removal of this dam will be necessary.

These dams should never have been built!

Sounds like you better get on fixing this hurry people depend on you

You’re telling me that they found these problems years after the Hoover dam problems were found? What happened to the yearly inspection report?!

Why does Cavitation not occur in the Penstocks?

Coat everything with a rubberized material that will flex against cavitation shockwaves

A viable, permanent, albeit very expensive, solution might be to “sleeve” those pipes with either Titanium pipe sleeves or diamond-encrusted hardened steel pipe sleeves.

Each year, it becomes more obvious that safely decommissioning the Glen Canyon Dam should be the top priority for the BLM. Risking the water supply to the Lower Colorado Basin is not acceptable.

Cubic feet does not give a familiar or recognizable measure of the volume. Either use gallons as unit or and preferably metric units, please.

Why not just stop releasing water until pool level rises up to the Penstock levels for power generation, then just maintain river flow through the turbines. It might mean a month when the Colorado faces low flow until dam level recovers.

I would like to know what in the design led to cavitation

Sooo its been an issue for literally 40 years now and nothing has been done about it. Figures

This could mean MAJOR PROBLEMS for the U.S. Southwest States and it's populace!!!

Dam is less than 60 years old. Seems like very poor planning to me.

Tax all businesses and individuals in the Colorado River Compact states to pay for a new dam or a bypass. You have chosen to live in a desert.

if they could make that outflow laminar that would be great

Decomission GCD

And the people wanting it to stay are the people who live now and never could believe how beautiful it all was before one or two people could see a way to make vast wealth of nature All for themselves even now there's alternatives that can do the job of creating electricity almost for free but there's no money in that

Lesson # 1 , you can’t live in the desert 🌵 with borrowed/ stolen water 💦

So for 40 years they didn’t address any of these issues?