Erosion worsens at Rapidan Dam

[@c-qc-q2021]

When there's no more water going over the dam and it's all going around it, it's no longer a dam, it's a diversion.

[@kimjongun8731]

Damit

[@PowderMill]

They could not afford the maintenance and repairs required to keep it safe. No funds are allowed to be spent on United States infrastructure under the “Pederast-in-Chief’s administration. All tax dollars must be diverted straight to the Ukraine Warmongering bunch.

[@ThomasD66]

Spectator at best

[@anthonys7534]

Dam!

[@wallyman292]

Yep! When the dam is no longer a factor in the situation, then you're pretty safe in saying it failed!

[@arkwill14]

I think they can stop saying partial failure. When the width of the channel flowing _around_ your dam is nearly the same width of the dam itself - there is nothing "partial" about it. It's failed.

[@jgchalmers]

that's not how English works

[@JFlower7]

The ONLY reason they can say partially failed is because the river made it's own path. So in fact the dam, that was suppose to hold the river did indeed fail.

[@freedomrings1420]

The dam didn't fail , it's still there. The ground on one side failed. Big difference.

[@eTraxx]

Reading the comments makes me think politicians entered the fray

[@RedKnight-fn6jr]

The dam wall may look structurally intact, but it's completely irrelevant at this stage - the dam is no longer on the river!

[@frankblangeard8865]

The only thing that the dam is holding back now is 114 years of built up sediment.

[@nicotti]

As black as that water looks, I'm not sure it's even doing that any more.

[@notalenthere]

Yeah as the river is cutting down around the dam it will continue to lower lake level until almost no lake is left. In process it is releasing all the silt as well. It seems the dam gates do not extend deep enough to continue allowing water to flow through damn which means there hasn’t been silt removal previously (or there are lower gates but not able to lift).

[@terranbyte2619]

@@notalenthere doesn't seem like there are spillways on the lower portions of this dam, and considering its fairly old one too. I'd imagine the builders didn't think lower gates were needed, which is likely why it had also been considered for removal. Plus likely why they were struggling to keep water levels down before, and the log jam that occur shortly before the partial failure started was likely the nail in the coffin for this dam.

[@jonb9178]

It's all long washed away. The Media is missing this. It's a big mess

[@paccarcrap]

The old girl still stands or what the thing identifies as 😂😂😂

[@SanJose_Panda]

The power of water is absolutely insane!

[@Novastar.SaberCombat]

Always underestimated, too.

[@j.p.4199]

God created water. Never doubt the power of God

[@feeblereptilian]

@@j.p.4199go back to school.

[@lutomson3496]

the power of fire is insane, those of us that have lost homes and lives to wildfires know at least there is warnings here

[@mplsmark222]

@@lutomson3496any loss is tragic and life altering, but to lose your house and the very land it was built on over 100 years ago is on another level.

[@allanvietmeier228]

removal of that dam is the only way to stop this erosion. The right angle force of the river is much greater then a straight flow and will continue to chew at the unprotected bank until the water flow diminishes or the flow is straightened out again.

[@chrisfoxwell4128]

Kind of a tough time to try to demolish a dam.

[@pampoovey3281]

@@chrisfoxwell4128 Bouncing Bettys

[@UtubeH8tr]

Thermite and semtex.

[@jonathanlanglois2742]

There's no stopping erosion. When you say "make the river channel straight", that's actually a mistake that we've been making for the last few centuries. By straightening rivers, we accelerate the flow, which increases the speed of flow, and its destructive potential. A natural river meanders which slows down the flow and allows sediments to be deposited. Even the very best erosion control structure that we humans can build eventually suffer the wrath of nature.

[@allanvietmeier228]

@@pampoovey3281 I understand that is difficult and I am not saying that they should do it but was simply adding this as context for the people that don't understand what is happening. As the water drops and picks up the sentiment in the front of the dam as it is starting to now it could become even more abrasive and chewing action could get worse. People assume as the flows diminish that the destruction should diminish as well but that will only be the case when the bottom of the river is the same on either side of the dam. that is 80 plus vertical feet the water has to chew through to reach that equilibrium.

[@Point_Particle]

Note to self: never build a home a couple hundred feet away from a dam...

[@g3user1usa]

Or that close to any river, in general. But people always want to get a good view of the river even if it ends up in their house. No thanks. I also don't think it's a good idea to buy a house in a flood plain area. Floodwater up to your rooftop can't be much fun. I'm happy to see some of those flood victims take the flooding so well. I'd be freaking out after losing everything I owned.

[@milwaukeeroadjim9253]

Or below one

[@phantomthiefjoker939]

Looks super dangerous being near to it.

[@bl8388]

@@g3user1usa Possibly family owned the land before the dam. And this is not a typical occurrence.

[@Comm0ut]

@@bl8388 It is however not necessary to live next to or below dams so I do not.

[@shirleybalinski4535]

River is carving a new channel.

[@karlschuneman7960]

Rivers seems to do this every day, it appears to be their job.

[@fswatyahoocom]

water always finds its way!

[@troyrager1352]

Saved the dam at least but I think a failure of a section of the dam might have released less water, that sucker is taking no time to create a new channel.

[@paulbade3566]

@@troyrager1352 Remember those grade school science lessons that said it takes "millions of years" to carve a river down to what we see today? LOL. Look how fast the river cut through the bedrock on the west side of the dam.

[@troyrager1352]

@@paulbade3566yessss! I was going to say something similar, catastrophic events, besides glaciation, carve out most land in short periods then gradualism flows through it's aftermath. Mainstream science is a cesspool of gate keeping of the old ideas sometimes and flat out wrong theories being propped up as facts. Too much ego and lust for funding and power won't let them change which is why a lot of science advances leaps and bounds after prominent scientists age and pass away or step aside. School could be so fun done right.

[@bradley-eblesisor]

Those poor, poor people. My heart goes out to everyone affected. 🙏🏻

[@vincentrockel1149]

It would appear that the dam is no longer serving as a restraint on the river.

[@005string005]

It never was a restraint for water but for sediment.

[@choppermike3329]

What makes you say that?

[@Novastar.SaberCombat]

What gave it away

[@kornofulgur]

Lools like the side fell off.

[@ReallyMaxPayload]

Oh, the house has gone. Those poor people. I hope they're being supported.

[@sprengron]

They are, and will continue to be.

[@ReallyMaxPayload]

@@sprengron Good to hear. Thank you.

[@SirNic4180]

Or don't build a house near the water 😅

[@bruanlokisson8615]

Bad choices are oft rewarded.

[@K-Anne_]

@@sprengronFeel for them and the family, community of that store.

[@dr.emilschaffhausen4683]

Damn. The dam store is on the menu. Tragic loss for the local community.

[@theboringchannel2027]

with no dam or road, that store is done because of the reduced traffic.

[@reeceharrison9986]

@@theboringchannel2027 There's a good chance the store will join the house in the river.

[@theboringchannel2027]

@@reeceharrison9986 yes, probably correct, which might be their best case scenario if they have insurance, because the business has already died going into the future.

[@sprengron]

@@theboringchannel2027 The road over the bridge will remain. The store has been there for fifty years and will continue to be successful -- if the building can survive. Local support for the dam store will be enormous once this crisis passes.

[@gordonanderson3111]

The Riverside Store formerly known as Dam.

[@daveh4832]

couldn't imagine working your life away to pay for a house that gets washed away

[@kc8639]

Insurance will probably dodge this one too. "You were not covered under the raging river clause."

[@Novastar.SaberCombat]

Luck is everything during terrestrial existence. Literally everything. On average, the majority of individuals will claim that their hard work led to X, Y, or Z, but all of them are deceived. Self-deceived. Fortune--good or bad--rules all. No exceptions.

[@teamidris]

All the decorating, upgrades, plumbing. You at least have your land normally to rebuild. That isn’t getting filled back in, it’s like a million tons.

[@bevmacdonald9008]

It's so heartbreaking. I hope they have good insurance. Unless you are 'squatting', have paid off your mortgage, or you are homeless, you are paying a mortgage: yours or someone else's.

[@Wee162]

And it looks like the homeowners have also lost their business, the restaurant.

[@roberthoffhines5419]

After over a century of annoyance, ol' Blue Earth River just said: "eff that, I'll go over here"

[@mybirds2525]

It is a fact that nobody seems to realize. You can put a dam in a river and in 500 years the river will be as if no dam ever existed.

[@allanvietmeier228]

@@mybirds2525 As someone that lives on the Missouri river I can attest to the fact that managing the Mighty Mo is an impossibility. If the river wants it the river will have it. Removal of dams in a controlled manner should be the plan of the day since mother nature isn't as forgiving when she does it for them.

[@mybirds2525]

@@allanvietmeier228 I don't know that removal is in order but definitely the lakes must have silt removed. That is a massive chore

[@bl8388]

@@mybirds2525 I understood this before my 475th birthday.

[@jamesalias595]

If the erosion eats back upstream to straighten out the bend, the bridge could be in danger, so far it seems to have resisted doing so, but if another big storm hits and the dam is still standing it could happen.

[@plmn93]

The bridge is probably already a goner. It was built on the sediment that had accumulated behind the dam. That sediment is now eroding away and washing downriver. In some pictures it looks like one of the pier's foundation is already starting to get exposed.

[@SirNic4180]

Oh well. This is what happens when you do not invest in infrastructure. The better question is who is the dam person who is in charge of monitoring the dam😮

[@plmn93]

@@SirNic4180 They did invest in it. It was damaged by flooding 5 years ago. Proposals were made for repair or removal but a decision had not been made yet, and even if it had been, the work would not have been done by now. Though there were significant long term issues that needed to be addressed, just last month the feds declared its condition "satisfactory".

[@JohnDoesItAll]

Sad to see the house gone but hopefully nature will spare the family store. So tragic 😢

[@josephpearlman4010]

If it does, their property value just went up, now that it's riverfront.

[@TimJBucci]

There's only going to be more weather anomalies with greenhouse gasses added to the gasses already tossed into the air naturally. Plus all of the chemtrails they spew into the skies for weather modification isn't helping.

[@timb7775]

There's no way that store is safe to go in ever again. It will be demolished.

[@darlenegillmore6116]

Looks like if this keeps up not much hope for the family restaurant. So sad. I live close to the Lake Of The Ozark in Mo and have always wonder what would happen if that damn breached. The corp of engineers run the turbines when it gets close to the 660 ft and it floods all the way to the Missouri and then flows into the Mississippi and it floods too. Pray to God that damn never breaches.

[@sprintcarsandguitars959]

from the rate that earth is falling into the sides,wont be but a few days now.

[@paca_bill4863]

Interesting to see the different layers of rock and dirt at 0:30. Amazing to see they installed the posts for the mail box stand 3-4' in the ground - the installation crew didn't cut corners there. And I'm surprised to see how extensive the root systems are from all of the trees.

[@Tomcat71]

millions of years of deposits washed down the river and the samples are seeing sunlight for the first time in millions of years . earth is crazy .

[@plmn93]

Frost line is at 3.5', gotta dig below that.

[@crabbyhayes1076]

@@plmn93 Cold winters in Minnesota!

[@choppermike3329]

@@plmn93 For a mailbox post? Uh...No.

[@plmn93]

@@choppermike3329 Uh, yes. Mailbox posts, fence posts, basketball poles, foundations, basically anything you don't want to have heave in the clay soil in that area.

[@drewmurray2583]

awww that house is gone......

[@connieellerbe-maycock7115]

Yeah it fell in last night.

[@suehowie152]

😢

[@tuvelat7302]

I hope they had a chance to get some things.

[@larrygaal4808]

@@connieellerbe-maycock7115 ANY VIDEO OF IT FALLING IN?

[@stratussol2475]

Yeah I think there is a video of it falling in

[@florencedahl3617]

What a view from the air 😮

[@shenmisheshou7002]

The owners of the house also own the little building near the bank, and the name of it is the "The Dam Cafe." They knew they were going to loose the house, but they were almost in tears over the prospect of losing the little cafe. I felt really bad for them.

[@marvindebot3264]

What do you do? You can't rebuild, there's nothing to rebuild on. So very sad for them.

[@shenmisheshou7002]

@@marvindebot3264 No, there is nothing they can do. The cliff is now very close to the cafe, which is the small building you see right next to edge now. At this point they will likely not loose the cafe, but I have no idea of what happens when your land is washed away. I am guessing insurance will build them a new home, but it won't pay for the land they will need.

[@Comm0ut]

They had time to move the buildings (if the buildings were worth moving), sell off the property etc but gambled and lost. I hope they had proper insurance but the only way to win this particular game is not to play.

[@shenmisheshou7002]

I was mistaken, it is not a cafe, it is the Dam Store. My guess is that it will be condemned. My heart is breaking for them and I am a guy that almost never says something like that. This old store was historic, and they were stewards of history.

[@Jason-vn5xj]

Real-time geology is bananas. Earth sciences class: "These canyons formed over millions of years of erosion." Blue Earth River: "Hold my beer."

[@midwestmatthew9752]

Little bit of water and a whole lot of time, or a little bit of time and a whole lot of water.

[@stevewilson4718]

Polluted Earth River

[@tthappyrock368]

I hope the community will rally around the man whose house and now probably, store, have been destroyed! How heartbreaking!

[@elliottsmith3632]

A river can be enjoyed but when it wants to move, there is nothing you can do to stop it. you may be able to control for a time, but it will do what it wants. Looking at Google maps, looks like the river has chewed up about 200 feet of dry land.

[@BongRipBing]

This is a dam tragedy..

[@StaceyNelsonTVNetwork]

😅💯

[@annabellelee4535]

Dam right!

[@Rebirth602]

Thats the dam truth of it..

[@StaceyNelsonTVNetwork]

@@Rebirth602 😂

[@galewinds7696]

Dam it.......knock it off >>>dam

[@OrionsKelt]

Absolutely magnificent topsoil

[@nicotti]

Engineer said in the press conference tuesday that they were worried about the silt stuck behind the dam moving downstream. As black as that water is and how far upstream those standing waves go (1:57), I'd say they have every reason to be worried.

[@queenofspadz]

What's the signifigance of silt buildup behind the concrete structure that was the dam? Not sure how fast or feasible but could they not start dismangting the dam structure in efforts to save the store?

[@amyself6678]

MN lowlands are mostly ignored, it's the higher flat farmland that makes the money. I'd guess some more sand banks will appear below Mankato but overall this dam failure won't affect much. I lived in New Ulm and you'd not notice it had a river nearby. I wonder if St Paul channel might silt up, but that's 100 miles away so not likely..

[@nicotti]

@@queenofspadz Ecological disaster downstream from the silt burying stuff and possibly undermining the support pillars for the highway bridge, are the two things the county engineer mentioned. If the erosion continues at the same rate as yesterday, the store'll fall in some time today/tonight. Can't dismantle the dam that quick.

[@BradHouser]

@@queenofspadz The silt clogs up the downstream parts of the river impacting the environment, killing off plants and fish. The faster the release of silt, the worse the impact. The store is expendable. Nothing they can do will help the store except to pray. They cannot attempt to do anything about repairing until the water flow drops way down and they can remove the debris from the dam. Only then can they think about filling in the eroded area.

[@BradHouser]

@@nicotti No way they would dismantle the dam to save the store.

[@patrickrabion9473]

Dam, what dam?? The dam is pretty much useless now.

[@seseLsan]

Unacceptable, even though this is reality

[@2DSTORMS]

Lake Delhi Dam failure in Iowa, took YEARS to fix

[@jerryolson3408]

The Dam built in 1905 Has survived intact even including the power house. The failure is due to a lack of attention to the downstream left embankment. This structure can be repaired an last another 120 years.

[@HEAVENBOUND267]

​@@jerryolson3408agreed 👍

[@toddwilliams5905]

It has been water in water out since 2019. Full of silt. That is the black you see now.

[@trmentry]

might as well remove the damn completely at this point.

[@Summerbreeze537]

No

[@simpinainteasyRHEC]

Soooo... keep it as a water monument? Lol

[@thehillbillyhilton3557]

​​@@Summerbreeze537why? What purpose is serving? What purpose did it serve besides creating a lake?

[@aphextwin5712]

@@thehillbillyhilton3557Wouldn’t your logic apply to any and all dams?

[@thehillbillyhilton3557]

@@aphextwin5712 for the most part but that dam is fubared

[@senoje]

Wow, look at all that beautiful green land and trees... If all of us could be so fortunate to live like this without the floods, it would be good.

[@tracydean3678]

I agree. It is beautiful country though.

[@seriejohnson698]

Gorgeous.

[@au_barb]

It's really a beautiful area.

[@Comm0ut]

There is plenty of OTHER land not on river banks. People tend to forget that when choosing where to build. No one is forced to live there and everyone in the region (except a few centanarians in nursing homes) had a lifetime to plan their location wisely so most of them did.

[@bonafide2410]

I wonder if that water flow, will carve out those bridge supports on that side and collapse it????

[@mrabrasive51]

Eventually it will.

[@totalbullion5882]

You can imagine what's happening to the ground underneath that point where it really drops off.

[@bl8388]

I imagine splashy water making super splashy noises. Even when all the people and animals are asleep at night, just splashing away.

[@BryanLebel-gm4jd]

Watch out downstream. The entire lake bed is about to drain and very rapidly. The foundation of the bridge is also at risk. Look at the current around the bridge posts or support's. The whole bridge could collapse

[@sprengron]

If the dam had totally failed it would have resulted in a two foot surge in nearby Mankato, not a dramatic increase. The river has been flowing like this for days. Most of the "reservoir" behind the dam is actually silt.

[@nicotti]

@@sprengron Agreed. Unfortunately the massive downstream release of that captured silt, that the engineers hoped wouldn't happen, is currently happening. :(

[@7phyton]

Perfect! Saves on demolition costs, which would be inevitable otherwise.

[@chrismoua6079]

That's insane, hope the community recovers safely and quickly.

[@jasonasselin]

Never mind THIS dam, what about down river?

[@JoeBLOWFHB]

The lake was full of sediment so it was pretty shallow. I heard a 2' water rise within the first few miles but within 10 miles it had dropped to a few inches.

[@Ryan5oh7]

Mankato has a levee system specifically for this reason so they'll be fine

[@adammurdoch1708]

this should make decommissioning the dam structure easier as getting rid of sediment buildup is a headache the failure has done it for them

[@Shawn_RHVAC]

UNBELIEVABLE!!!!! THE POWER OF WATER!!!!

[@duaneayers6117]

The river is looking for the septic tank.

[@tstahler5420]

We're going to need a bigger dam!

[@Canaris_Kiss]

How about you find a different way to generate hydro power. In the 6000 year history of China, Dams always fail and reap the destruction of Empire.

[@starguy2718]

Chief Brody to Captain Quint.

[@FFL61750]

They need to vote in competent politicians who hire competent engineers who both do THEIR JOB. Unfortunately the public never learns and votes in the same 🤡 all the time. Michigan has gone through the same BS and then the people get stuck with the bill as usual. Penny wise and dollar foolish as they say.

[@MrSTINGRAYJ2008]

​@@FFL61750I think you are right

[@Comm0ut]

There is no reason to have a dam there. That one hasn't made hydropower since the 1960s. People used to build dams with little thought for future consequences. That dam served its purpose and replacing it would not benefit the taxpayers footing the bill.

[@anitamitchell3452]

Excellent drone work!! Thank you for your efforts. Well done.

[@loragunning5394]

It's not a drone, it's a helicopter.

[@james_robnett]

Dam isn't going to fail so much as it will be completely ignored. It's no longer in the channel.

[@gordonanderson3111]

The reason this dam was built with two wood covered spillways on the right side was that they could be blasted open to prevent this from happening on the left side. But those were covered over with cement long ago, and it would have still been possible but no one thought of grabbing some dynamite and opening them up - would have prevented this.

[@aphextwin5712]

All the tree trunks piled up at the dam are part of the problem. There are examples of structures to filter out large pieces of wood further upstream of choke points like dams. But with a lake, that would likely need to happen upstream from the lake itself.

[@giclat1098]

I don't know much about this sort of thing but from the start I've been wondering if either using fire of explosives to break the logjam would help. Such a lovely area and sorry to see the house gone! It held on valiantly!

[@gordonanderson3111]

It does sound strange by today's standards yet many construction sites, miners, loggers and even famers used to have a few cases of dynamite in their sheds (store detonators seperatly at all times folks) and blowing out the log jam and one or two of the gates would have saved the shoreline and buildings: While this dam will have to be taken out now anyway.

[@scottjarriel6761]

I'm surprised they haven't gone ahead and blown the damn open. The damn is destroyed already. But allowing it to redirect the water is only going to continue the erosion, and it's likely to take out the roadway bridge supports upstream, as well as the cafe.

[@twotone3471]

The release of the reservoir is occurring gradually. Once the level behind the dam reaches the level in front of it, I imagine they will do just that, if they even bother, seeing the river has a new channel already.

[@DJFPhantomPhan]

But the dam isn’t destroyed, only partially failed. The biggest concern isn’t from erosion or the water, but from the massive amount of silt in the reservoir.

[@jerryolson3408]

The Dam built in 1905 Has survived intact even including the power house. The failure is due to a lack of attention to the downstream left embankment. This structure can be repaired an last another 120 years.

[@tetchuma]

Remind me again how deregulation of environmental protections, along with privatization of infrastructure projects… is a good thing???

[@virgilhilts3924]

None of that had anything to do with this. Timber along the river was washed away by the severe storm & flooding which clogged the gates. It happened so quickly that they didnt have time to clear the obstructions before the river rose and bypassed the dam.

[@vashlotus1891]

The trees are literally holding on for life which is helping save the building from collapsing sooner. This dam is fubar.

[@theboringchannel2027]

dam is standing fine, the embankment is fubar.

[@localbod]

Fubar must be a technical term now. 😅

[@tigrehermano]

yeah but the property owners seem to have removed most of the tree strip on the margin on the river to build a house just a a few meters away from the river. everyone else built far enough and kept the tree strip.

[@theboringchannel2027]

@@tigrehermano the clearing of trees likely happened 100 years ago when they were contructing the dam and needed access to the area for equipment and supplies. House and has fallen into the river, and the store was demolished by the state to keep it from falling into the river.

[@tigrehermano]

@@theboringchannel2027 nope, it was just the property, you can look it up on maps quickly, search for "rapidan the dam cafe"

[@anibed8307]

Why is the water so dark?

[@KayJones-j2l]

I was so sad to see that house go and my hopes are for the dam store

[@simonbyrd6518]

That's wild, seeing pieces of the wall falling off..

[@cameracamera1319]

Mailbox. Store. Garden. Holy smokes getting even worse. So sad.

[@queenofspadz]

RIP tomato plants

[@y0nd3r]

@@queenofspadz those are white balls of some kind that fell down the cliff at 1:26. Idk what they are, but I didn't see tomatoes.

[@daveh4832]

Funny the amount of people saying they wouldn't put a house so close to the old dam.... They didn't build the house yesterday it's probably been as long as the dam

[@dentatusdentatus1592]

When I saw that erosion, I was like...."dam."

[@mikesmechanical1102]

The partial failure has now been upgraded to a major partial failure. Soon it may be categorised as a total partial failure.

[@MrJoker-]

Water doesn't play no games.

[@jimmyjack7083]

What about water polo? Water balloon fights?

[@AngryChicKen-VIP]

No, I lost my house when I was 15. They say ''have compassion, they lost our store'' I say ''thank god for being alive, forget about the store and GET THE F--- OFF'' if youre down the river. Now. Forget the prayers and get off. The dam WILL go, it's a matter of hours.

[@AngryChicKen-VIP]

@@jimmyjack7083 hey I didnt think abt that!

[@MrJoker-]

@@jimmyjack7083 that games played in water.

[@Critical-Thinker895]

Water carved out this country. If it wants to go somewhere, there is nothing to stop it.

[@cerberus1166]

my heart is broken for the family who im guessings childhood home has been washed away by now. i couldnt imagine how id feel.

[@ronnie32567]

Damn that whole house is gone!!!! It was hanging in there like a hair in a biscuit, I thought it would make it !!!!!!

[@ronnie32567]

Well for your information, just upriver from the house the bank jutted out a little bit and that was turning the water back into the stream bed somewhat protecting the bank under the house. Might want to sharpen your powers of observation just a tad before you run off at the mouth

[@ronnie32567]

@@elizabethchase6528well no S, but it had lasted for a couple days and the officials said the river had peaked so I was hopeful the the projection would hold out. But apparently I was wrong,. Anyone can be wrong every now and then, heck I was wrong one time a number of years ago

[@ronnie32567]

@@elizabethchase6528now it would be kind of you to admit that my reasoning for being hopeful for the house to hold had merit

[@DenisLefebvre-u1x]

Lack of maintenance, poor planning from proprietors, no disaster emergency plan can only cause these accidents

[@virgilhilts3924]

None of those things had anything to with this. Timber along the river was washed away by the severe storm & flooding which clogged the gates. It happened so quickly that they didnt have time to clear the obstructions

[@anthonytimpson4975]

Holy shit the sediment load in that river is enormous.

[@barneyrubble4293]

Probably all the sediment from behind the dam.

[@anthonytimpson4975]

@@barneyrubble4293 no doubt, I just wasn't expecting that level of blackness

[@clarence4735]

I think its past the word "erosion" at this point

[@cajuncrackerranch7990]

Mother Nature always wins. We humans are but mere fleas. When she has had enough… she will go around!

[@januarysdaughter6664]

THE GARDEN! These folks have been through too much. First their house and now the garden and possibly the store! My heart goes out to you. I've had losses like this. You will be ok as long as you still have each other! ❤❤❤ ❤❤❤

[@MR-xc3sw]

The dam didn't fail the operators failed the dam . Removing debris is top priority at every dam on the planet. If all dam operators were this incompetent there wouldn't be a dam standing anywhere.

[@Xdonald331]

Probably DEI hires....

[@EricCarlson-bz2pt]

The builders of the dam didn't account for the increase in cloud seeding.

[@mikeprice4103]

@@Xdonald331 trumptard alert!

[@choppermike3329]

@@Xdonald331 😂😂

[@mikeprice4103]

@@EricCarlson-bz2pt You one those flat earth chemtrail lizard people types? Cool!

[@Concerned_Citizen111]

Every now and then Mother Nature reminds us who’s in charge.

[@MerrimanDevonshire]

It's just a few twigs in the chute, what can it do? 😢

[@1954crc]

I'm amazed at the speed of the erosion of the banks.

[@rstats2127]

The non-stop rain in the Midwest isn’t not giving them a break

[@starshine3588]

Rain is natural….dams are not. Dams slow the natural water flow and that’s what caused this situation. Don’t blame the rain. All the land ahead of that dam hasn’t eroded….but because the dam is there the water was being blocked so it had no choice but to carve a new path around the dam. Man caused this….not the weather….the weather naturally happens all the time and if that dam wasn’t there this new path wouldn’t have had to carve out a new path. Dams also cause water upstream to build up more which then also contributes to more flooding upstream….flooding that could have been prevented or minimal if the dam wasn’t there.

[@choppermike3329]

@@starshine3588 😂😂🤣🤣

[@EricCarlson-bz2pt]

Cloud seeders.

[@rstats2127]

@@starshine3588 are you serious our do you have reading comprehension issues? Rain is natural? thanks for that tidbit of information. Man I hope certain people don’t breed as we are doomed and the movie “Idiocracy” is coming true!

[@rstats2127]

@@EricCarlson-bz2pt where do you get your tinfoil hats?

[@thonatim5321]

This is why dams are not a good idea long term.

[@faithhupy4983]

Actually the dam is doing quite well

[@wayneisanamerican]

actually, the dam didn't fail, the surrounding bank did, amazing they didn't plan for some auxiliary spillway and or rain storms.

[@zetsumeinaito]

1:16 - 1:26 "My Cabbages!"

[@Renewed-e8p]

No longer a dam, just an obstacle the river wraps around!

[@HappyHarryHardon]

This is a spillway failure not a dam failure. The dam and its abutments are still there. This is a classic overtopping, not a dam failure.

[@jonathanbuyno9461]

Ok bro

[@BradHouser]

What Spillway? I don't see one in the "before" pictures. It appears the designers thought it would be OK to let it overtop the concrete part. The ground didn't agree.

[@HappyHarryHardon]

@@BradHouser the spill was was a tiny opening outside of the west abutment and the concrete that is seen in the before photos is “the spillway” that was poured over the bedrock channeling the overspill back into the river. Once the concrete on the bedrock washed away the water took the path of least resistance which was not the bedrock. The soil began to wash away farther west taking pressure off the dam.

[@stevemiller6923]

@@HappyHarryHardon Good luck on trying to bring reality into a youtube discussion.

[@rickhaiman9904]

Pretty sure what we've learned from long term dam experience is, technology moved on past their usefulness for the majority, which was electrical generation, the critical ones we didn't Rebuild or Heavily Upgrade with modern technology for long term use like Kiewit did to the Oroville Dam. Now were tearing many down which is super awesome back to natural, cause, The Mountains Washed Away.

[@TBATG]

This place CANNOT be rebuilt, that's a whole road and land swallowed up by rushing waters.

[@CaptainRon1913]

Yes it can, but they need to get rid of that dam first, and restore the river to it's natural flow

[@TBATG]

@@CaptainRon1913 what about the land though?

[@josephpearlman4010]

@@CaptainRon1913 Do you really think any insurance would pay for a half million truckloads of fill and then get it certified to build a house on?

[@choppermike3329]

Well yes it can. It was built in the early 1900s. So you think it can't be rebuilt?

[@josephpearlman4010]

@@choppermike3329 It was built on stable land. They would have to bring in fill, pack it and probably some sort of wall. It can be done but I doubt you will ever see it done. No one would be willing to pay for that.

[@nvs4u2]

The dam DIDN’T fail. It HELD!! The river merely went around it and created a new course.

[@RJ4O4]

SO SAD. the loss of that house and now it's getting too close for comfort to the store ! WHY aren't they working on unplugging that dam some?

[@CountryAndProud]

You think property is worth people's lives? If you have a safe way of doing it. Go do it, don't expect others to risk their own lives over property..

[@daveanderson177]

the new conference given yesterday stated that the companies contacted to remove the log jams were concerned about the crew safety and not chomping at the bit to put heavy equipment on the dam structure. Plus the dam was NOT holding back a HUGE amount of water. Not sure what the proper terminology is but the amount of water flowing through the dam was equal to the river flow.

[@rchuyck]

Its too late, the flow is around the dam now.

[@Twillen113]

At this point the water level is lower than the dam outlets. For the dam to be used again, they have to fill in the new channel...

[@theboringchannel2027]

unpugging the dam would do nothing to stop the water going around the dam.

[@GHOSTSTALKER90]

Flex seal?

[@MrMojo271]

It’s a mostly peaceful flood, though

[@starguy2718]

😄😄😄😄

[@Christ_Our_Life]

Thanks for the coverage!

[@helenjones568]

Awesome drone footage! I hope it stops before that store. Maybe the forces at that point is further down.

[@carhasenfratz]

This is terrible for the people who lost their property and I feel for them. I’m also very interested to see what the area will end up like in the long run. What effect will the sediment have? What will the lake bed look like? What will the new river channel be like? I hope there is follow up information to come. I went on a hiking trail last year in Indiana that partly took us over the top of an old decommissioned dam overlooking it’s former reservoir, now a prarie type area with a stream flowing through it. Very interesting to see. Also kind of scary. I’m glad so far there is no loss of life.

[@DrHarryT]

Nature finds a way.

[@F-zi2ui]

And other times: Nature makes the way

[@J3scribe]

Tragedy and personal consequences aside, the natural process of evasion and erosion of the water stream is absolutely fascinating. A lot will be learned here, and future engineering and infrastructure will benefit from it.

[@DJFPhantomPhan]

Amazing how everyone in the comments is an engineer. What are the chances? 🙄

[@busslayer4790]

Luckily for us there has been a lul and they can help out after they provided their analysis on homemade sub and container ship propulsion operation failures.

[@barbaraarsenault1192]

Now that that river is diverting around the dam, the fastest water will be displaced toward the outer edge of the bend, causing more and more erosion. I wonder if they are considering blowing up what is left of the dam.

[@transmitterguy478]

The house is gone!

[@randallthomas5207]

I look at this and get angry, the damage would have been greatly decreased if they cleared the debris from the trash racks. This is gross negligence.

[@virgilhilts3924]

It happened so quickly that they didnt have time to clear the obstructions

[@randallthomas5207]

@@virgilhilts3924 The first pictures showed water running tough a few of the trash racks, and almost no water going around the abutment. If they had cleaned it then, they would have been able to save the structure. Now they waited too long, and the new channel is below the bottom of the overflow and cleaning the racks won't do anything.

[@virgilhilts3924]

@@randallthomas5207 Again, It happened so quickly that they didnt have time to clear the obstructions.

[@randallthomas5207]

@@virgilhilts3924 only because they had not planned their reaction in advance. It is part of managing emergencies when you are the operator in charge of a dam. 100-year events occur. Your job as an operator is to plan for them, and implement the plan. Your job is to not stand around tucked and locked, while the dam you are in charge of operating fails catastrophically because you haven’t planned. Somebody sat around drinking coffee, and not doing their job. Trash racks get cleaned. If they had sent out a backhoe with a thumb, to clear debris they would have saved the dam. If you can’t afford to own the equipment, you sure as hell can’t afford to pay the damages from a failure. You can have multiple contracts, with qualified contractors for them to be on standby to mobilize in emergencies. Lots of options. THIS IS A FAILURE TO PLAN AND IMPLEMENT.

[@GWAYGWAY1]

They have lost the house I hope the caffe doesn’t get it as well😢.

[@CMDROldDuck]

Video is fascinating from a geological and even ecological perspective.

[@denise8242]

First it was the I 35 bridge, now a dam. Our infrastructure is failing while we send all our money to Ukraine!

[@jamesclark9347]

American infrastructure is weak in a lot of areas and a lot of locations! Except where the wealth is.

[@Comm0ut]

This isn't an "infrastructure" problem, just an old dam no one has needed since mid last century. The failure was not removing the dam in the 1970s when it was discussed. Not all dams should be built or replaced.

[@lf4061]

My concern is that without the dam, where is all that sudden extra water going and what other residences and possibly towns is it effecting down stream?!

[@charliewaters5289]

Why are you calling it a dam failure? The dam is the only thing still there!

[@jasonfrancis1736]

?.........

[@markusgorelli5278]

Comments say that since the river appears to have cut its own channel completely, that the dam isn't doing anything as far as its purpose is concerned which is to hold back the water.

[@SwitchinLanez720]

Great footage 👏🏿

[@KAzik10001]

Build back better update.

[@opieshomeshop]

*_Don't let the dog fall in. Sheesh! I can't believe people let their dogs run loose in this area.._*

[@WayneMacLean-lj8lb]

Looks like it is down to the bedrock which is a good thing as long as the water does not rise above it. Which hopefully it won't do the people who lost the home will not lose the business store also. As bad as it is compared to what the people were used to living around there. Once the dam is fixed it will be a very nice looking area even before the dam let go.

[@ExploringAI42]

I really thought the erosion was slowing down yesterday and was hoping that house was going to make it.... Hopefully the store makes it.

[@johneken2056]

Amazing that a state government seems helpless.

[@frostyhkd]

…what did you want them to do?

[@mikeprice4103]

If you have some info on how to control nature call a state government

[@Rebirth602]

Lol, just get here or what?

[@stevemiller6923]

Yes. If the state government had only taken some action to prevent so much rain, this never would have happened.

[@nameisprivate5429]

That river is like… yessss freedom!

[@duotronic6451]

Good. That dam should have been removed 20 years ago. 😢😢😢

[@RealCult]

I’m thankful for the time I spent smoking blunts on this bridge. It’s a true Mankato Gem everyone loves. ❤ proud of the dam holding up under this amount of pressure. One of the greatest dams ever built. First hydroelectric dam built actually. This is historical.

[@joek511]

So how fast did the Grand Canyon form?

[@james_robnett]

10s of millions of years, go out side with a shovel, let me know which is harder to dig through, top soil or bedrock. I'll wait.