What if the Hoover Dam Failed?

[@megaprojects9649]

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[@blshouse]

Zero chance that this sponsor is legit.

[@RobertJarecki]

Mr. Whistler would, at this time, do better to review this video and the comments being posted and take action to protect his professional reputation rather than touting a service to protect his viewers' data

[@glike2]

Watch "Our Global Water Cycle Lurches From Too-Wet to Too-Dry: New Report for 2024 by Global Water Monitor" by Climate Scientist Paul Beckwith We all live in our own community and get used to the slowly changing local climate like a frog boiling in water. The global trend is very alarming. We need a plan to mitigate our long-term mega drought in the Western USA. The Coalition for a National Infrastructure Bank has a great plan to build a pipeline from the Mississippi River bypass in Louisiana to Lake Mead and Lake Powell to refill them in this long-term mega drought. It would NOT require a huge amount of electricity to get up to those elevations and could easily be powered by floating solar power on the reservoirs, covering less than 10%. Two axis floating solar that tracks the Sun elevation and azimuth would provide very long power hours per day, producing a lot of power during peak demand. There would also be less evaporation on the reservoirs. The power lines are already nearby. And the hydropower is a huge battery. Solar power is currently the lowest cost. The cost for the project could easily be paid back by the agriculture that could grow to be a much larger business and currently which is being curtailed due to dwindling water supplies. Only a small percentage of the bypass water would be required to refill the reservoirs. The pipeline could also act as a source of water with reversed flow for occasional drought situations in Louisiana.

[@AnAmericanPatriot1555]

Is there a chance that the dust bowl is worthy of a story?

[@glike2]

@AnAmericanPatriot1555 could it happen again? We are doing everything right for that if we use all the water and agriculture stops and by that point 3C warming. Did you read my comment?: Watch "Our Global Water Cycle Lurches From Too-Wet to Too-Dry: New Report for 2024 by Global Water Monitor" by Climate Scientist Paul Beckwith We all live in our own community and get used to the slowly changing local climate like a frog boiling in water. The global trend is very alarming. We need a plan to mitigate our long-term mega drought in the Western USA. The Coalition for a National Infrastructure Bank has a great plan to build a pipeline from the Mississippi River bypass in Louisiana to Lake Mead and Lake Powell to refill them in this long-term mega drought. It would NOT require a huge amount of electricity to get up to those elevations and could easily be powered by floating solar power on the reservoirs, covering less than 10%. Two axis floating solar that tracks the Sun elevation and azimuth would provide very long power hours per day, producing a lot of power during peak demand. There would also be less evaporation on the reservoirs. The power lines are already nearby. And the hydropower is a huge battery. Solar power is currently the lowest cost. The cost for the project could easily be paid back by the agriculture that could grow to be a much larger business and currently which is being curtailed due to dwindling water supplies. Only a small percentage of the bypass water would be required to refill the reservoirs. The pipeline could also act as a source of water with reversed flow for occasional drought situations in Louisiana.

[@GoWstingray]

And to think, they have Megatron hidden under the dam undergoing experiments on him.

[@Pr0toPoTaT0]

Autobots roll out, we've found Megatron!!!!

[@larryplays7553]

dont forget about the cube too

[@austinjacob8026]

Where was megaton when the Roman’s and ncr fought over control of it????

[@kylerocco7467]

​@@austinjacob8026he was going by his alter ego Liberty prime

[@newyorkcityabductschild]

Dude, that was like 3 films ago 😂

[@joshquivey6990]

The more important question is: what if it is seized by Caesar's Legion in 2281?

[@rogerpenske2411]

Hail Caesar

[@nzsmithsi]

Hail Caesar

[@robertschemonia5617]

Patrolling the Mojave almost makes me wish for a nuclear winter. When I got this assignment, I thought there'd be more gambling.

[@davidmarlow3624]

The truth is.. the game was rigged from the start

[@trent0v625]

My brother died at the battle of Hoover damn!

[@hardrockuniversity7283]

Dear sir: As my step father worked for the USGS in 1983 that measures all the water flows in the region, the scenario you mention actually was feared for a few days. Glen Canyon Dam was at capacity and releasing the first flows ever through it's spillways when vibrations indicted damage to those spillways. Emergency deployment of seismic specialists determined within a few days that the erosion was not heading towards the dam, but nobody knew that at first. A catastrophic collapse of Glen Canyon was truly feared with the consequences to Hoover unknowable but terrifying. I was living in Yuma at the time. This was NOT a thought exercise..

[@vlmellody51]

I remember the 1983 flood very well. I was pregnant with my son in Tucson, AZ, at the time. I lived within half a mile of the Rillito River, and I watched several buildings collapse into it from my balcony.

[@hardrockuniversity7283]

The high flows in 83 brought striped bass down from Lake Havasu and my brother and I had a blast fishing for them in the shallow white water below Laguna Dam spillway. GOOD TIMES!

[@doubler8684]

I lived in Page at that time and the threat was real. The vibrations felt on top of the canyon directly above and a bit downstream (on top of the canyon) while the spillways and jet tubes were flowing was just intense. Peak output during flooding was over 92,000 cubic feet per second.

[@johnchedsey1306]

I was gonna come into the comment section to point out the near failure of the Glen Canyon dam in 1983 means it could be a realistic scenario. I was a kid in the Colorado mountains in 1983 and I do vaguely recall that winter being insanely snowy.

[@hardrockuniversity7283]

Yep. I was 'in the loop' at the time and there was very serious concern as they only had limited option and were terrified of going into uncontorolled release at Glen Canyon. They prevented serious damage below Hoover by raising the spillways 4' with 2 inches of marine plywood on steel frames bolted on top..

[@thehunterkirsch]

Hi Vegas resident here. Las Vegas recycles 90% of all water it uses. If it goes down a drain it goes right back to the lake. The bellagio fountains even use water from sinks and showers in the hotel tower to fill it. What’s actually draining the Colorado river are alfalfa farms in Arizona and other farms in California. If they found a different water source lake mead would fill

[@mammutMK2]

convert the dessert into farmland and try to keep it that way. There's just so much water you can take out a river and they may need to overthink the wastage of water

[@RobertStewart-i3m]

​@@mammutMK2 So dessert farmland bad but normal good. Gotcha

[@mammutMK2]

@@RobertStewart-i3m that's like comparing a bathtub to a pool...when I can't have a 2500 gallon pool, why they still allow bathtubs. If it's not too dry, you don't need irrigation on actual farmland, and even if it's performed it's often in water rich areas to get the water on the plants due to the lack of rain. But in a dessert you already need a lot of water to convert it to farmland and to keep it that way, the base soil is like concrete, bone dry...and since there's no ground water or actual ground soil to contain the water and the heat, it needs permanent irrigation. Like turning concrete slab into farmland by pouring some soil on it and watering it around the clock so your plants don't dye

[@markbrotherton1967]

Don't drink the tap water 😂

[@RangerGucci]

You're absolutely right and as an Arizona resident it infuriates me that we waste water on suadi alfalfa farms

[@jonknestrick5219]

Simon: "Just how bad could the situation be?" Me: "Damn bad."

[@MarioMonte13]

Bad dam

[@urlauburlaub2222]

@@MarioMonte13 Dam it

[@MarioMonte13]

@urlauburlaub2222 we already did, but it was bad

[@doubler8684]

My dad worked on Glen Canyon Dam until the labor strike. He was one of those drillers that hung off of ropes and drilled into the canyon walls with the raging river below! He always told me it was no big deal hanging 600 feet off a sheer cliff, it was a job that had to be done. I also lived in Page during the 1983 floods and believe me they were very worried about spillway erosion and the integrity of that whole system. I got to go inside the spillways during the repairs caused by the floods and they are huge!

[@aisle9]

The Colorado flows into the Gulf of California, not Mexico. The Gulf of Mexico is separated from the Colorado by the Rocky Mountains, and there's no way for the water to cross them.

[@Djamonja]

Isn't he just talking about Mexico having some of the water rights from the Colorado river? Because I believe they do. Nothing to do with the Gulf of Mexico, I mean Gulf of America 😉

[@aisle9]

@@Djamonja You mean the Gulf of Stupidica? Unrelated, Mexico does have water rights to the Colorado, but because the treaty was signed in the early 1900s and they overestimated the river's flow even back then, Mexico rarely gets anywhere close to its share. The Colorado "ends" in the Gulf of California, but it stops flowing over a hundred miles further inland when the last little stream dries up.

[@Dev-In-Denver123]

There is if the water evaporates and snows on the other side 🤪

[@Djamonja]

@ Yes, I know that, and I was just joking about the name, thus the winky face.

[@thenickncasey]

Gulf of California? You mean the Sea of Arizona lol

[@floydwegienka6582]

The Roosevelt Dam is on the Salt river. The waters would flood Phoenix, on its way to the Colorado via the Gila river, witch it empties into just southwest of Phoenix. The Gila river empties into the Colorado river just north of Yuma. So its waters will have no effect on the Hoover dam.

[@TheDanEdwards]

Glad someone corrected this. Seems like the editors for this channel are quite sloppy.

[@johnchedsey1306]

Yeah, this error annoyed me too. (Arizona resident)

[@floydwegienka6582]

@@johnchedsey1306 I'm a Tucsonan

[@phoenix-urban9746]

I can't believe his research was so far off on this one.

[@chuckd9007]

​@@TheDanEdwardschinese writers.

[@TheDanEdwards]

13:40 "spill out in the Gulf of Mexico"

[@AndrooH]

I gave up when they couldn't correctly identify an upstream dam or river to cause their fictional disaster.

[@peacewillow]

for real! when he said that, i about choked! 😱

[@michaelhowell2326]

And even worse, it took me a minute to find anyone else who caught that.

[@andrewlegrand4416]

I knew I wasn’t alone. No way is it going over New Mexico and Texas

[@codyaragon93]

Wrong. Definitely would flood the Persian Gulf and get the Warfronts writers all riled up.

[@AndrooH]

err - isn't the Theodore Roosevelt Dam on the Salt River, not the Little Colorado? And the Salt River does not feed Lake Meade?

[@pedrodepacas-ic1cb]

C'mon bro what do you expect out of a Brit who self-admittedly doesn't "get" Pink Floyd? I will never forgive Simon for that statement.

[@mesamesa1212]

the roosevelt dam is not upstream from lake mead, it eventually gets to the colorado river via salt then gila river finally joinng the colorado around yuma. the little colorado river has no dam and is on the other side of the mountains from roosevelt dam.

[@ubercubs]

The map they displayed literally shows this. Lazy fact-checking before recording

[@GreenWitch420]

Exactly - I was so confused about that! Like, you can even see on the map that it's quite south with no obvious link between them.

[@AeroGuy07]

Lake Mead was named after Elwood Mead, the engineer who made the desert bloom. He's from the town I grew up in.

[@martinstallard2742]

1:08 the dam 2:29 end of sponsorship 7:22 collapse and ramifications 14:58 a more realistic crisis

[@TheoAnon]

You dropped your 👑

[@Cheka__]

Please marry me.

[@mattlewis8889]

Big Dog!

[@LightBlueVans]

i think i love you

[@DocNo27]

lol - Hoover Dam is so over-engineered if it breaks the planet has far, far worse problems 🤣 A fun thought experiment though!

[@argentum530]

What if Simon ran out of ideas for a new channel? What if we were doomed and destined to only have the 11 or so currently in production. Would KZbin cease to exist? Would the Earth stop turning and the Universe go dark? Stay tuned, Simon will have a new channel shortly explaining these important questions of life and the future history of mankind.

[@J30YLK]

The Whistlerverse deserves an episode making about its history, the channels that have come and gone, an insight into the writers and editors, who's in Simons basement, and of course how it's become a legendary side mission of finding and subscribing to all of the channels in the Whistlerverse!

[@joelwexler]

It's hard to believe you once had 3 choices of "streaming" media to choose from. I couldn't live in that world.

[@ericmoore571]

I'm beginning to think he has been cloned

[@richknudsen5781]

If you understand how it was built and where it is built you would know that the only way it could fail would be by sabotage. Most all failures of this type of dam were because the surrounding area was not stable enough to maintain their integrity. Hoover is built into solid rock, unlike the failure of the Cali St Francis dam years ago. And it's shear mass prevents and possibility of uplift, especially considering the 7 Sisters Co. dug down to bedrock on the floor of the riverbed. Fun video though Simon.

[@gclayton86]

Minor point of order, For some reason there are two Colorado Rivers in the USA and the one that Lake Mead holds back would empty into the Gulf of California, not Gulf of Mexico.

[@ScottGunMag69]

Or the Gulf of America for that matter 😂. Sorry I had to say it.

[@codyaragon93]

Yea, opposite side of the continental divide.

[@krozareq]

Yeah several rivers that share the same name in the US. Salt River is another one. At least they seem to only use duplicate names when crossing the continental divide.

[@johnm320]

A few howlers here, as pointed out in earlier comments: Roosevelt dam is on the Salt river that feeds into the metro Phoenix area ; The Colorado river flows into into Mexico and then the Gulf of California, NOT Gulf of Mexico.

[@jkent9915]

Just to give you an idea, the Dambusters from WWII were attacking dams that were 130ft tall, 25ft thick at the top, and 100ft at the base (40m, 8m, 30m). The Hoover dam is more than 700 feet tall and 45 ft thick at the top and 660ft at the bottom, (220m, 7m, 200m). Any conventional explosive would have a limited impact. Even a MOAB weighing 10 tons, with 9 tons of explosive isn’t that huge compared to the old Dambuster bombs which were more than 3 tons of explosive and struggled to do more than chip off the top of dams which were selected because they were made out of [checks notes] “limestone rubble masonry” (mortar and rocks). The MOAB should go through some 20m of concrete. A couple of those and they might have a leak on their hands.

[@NightingaleSunset]

Couple of issues here, for one- you used some wide shots of Glen Canyon Dam when talking about downstream of Hoover. Second, the Colorado flows into the Gulf of California between Mexico proper and the Mexican State of Baja California before exiting into the Pacific... not the Gulf of Mexico

[@martinschaeffer2]

I think you meant to say it would spill into the gulf of California

[@JosephJanitorius-p5v]

So right. Besides, the Gulf of Mexico has been rebranded to the Gulf of America, but I was fine with the old name

[@ubercubs]

Yup, someone needs to check these scripts. He's just getting lazy now

[@JABoyle3875]

@@JosephJanitorius-p5vrebranded by a halfwit moron. Only him and his pole smokers call it that.

[@louisbrewer5317]

Was gonna say...

[@markmh835]

​@@JosephJanitorius-p5v-- Sorry to disappoint you, but neither one person nor one country can "rename" an international body of water or geographic feature. So that body of water remains the Gulf of Mexico. But if renaming were really that simple, I thereby rename the property known as Mar-a-Lago to be "Idiot Asylum." There ... rebranding completed.

[@MarkTadder]

All right, as a former Whitewater River guide in the upper salt River Canyon I can tell you with 100% certainty that Roosevelt Lake has nothing to do with the little Colorado river and is actually in the salt river watershed. I'm only hoping that when I watch the rest of the video it turns out that this is some kind of Joke but just in case I thought I'd put this in here

[@Skyrunner_84]

Sadly it was not a joke

[@NormalPerson-z5c]

I loved the video! FYI, the Colorado River empties in the the Gulf of California, not Gulf of Mexico

[@Mustacheman17]

He probably got it mixed up with the Colorado River in Tx that passes through Austin & empties in the Gulf of Mexico. Always thought it was dumb that they have the same name lol.

[@AndrooH]

FFS, why did I keep watching? Deadpool will apparently "leave the Colorado River bone dry 'permanently," Well, at least until the dam refills enough.

[@krozareq]

And it won't leave millions of people without power. Hoover has been generating at a low capacity for some time and dead pool was expected in 2023. On a good year now it's like 700MW. Some of the solar farms in the area produce more than that. The Grand Coulee Dam produces 6.8GW. Hoover is ranked 30th in hydro power generation in the US. It could generate just over 2GW if Mead was full. But that's not happening anytime soon.

[@ScottLovenberg]

My great grandfather was one of the architects on the Hoover Dam. He was one of the less credentialed members of the architects, being a Princeton lad as my family tends to be. The guys on this project were no slouches. Simon, you'll love that he started the football (soccer) team at Princeton. Or, you should love that had you any interest in the sport of your origin story. :) I believe when he went on so the Chrysler building in Chicago with a few of those same architects, but I have to call my mom to verify and that's a Sunday afternoon call, leat she thinks I'm in the hospital because I called on a Saturday afternoon.

[@RobertJarecki]

*_Never_* call your mother at a time when she may conclude you're in the hospital. Also, if she's like my late mother, always have a jacket when you visit, in case she worries about you being cold on the drive home (on an August evening when the temperature is 85°F/30°C in a car with fully functioning HVAC).

[@jetsons101]

We drove to Hover Dam in 83 just to see the spillways flowing, it was very impressive to say the least.

[@JustherefortheLOLZ]

Did you take the tour inside the dam? I forgot what year it was I went but they took you all the way in to one of the diversion tunnels. That ended with 9/11.

[@jetsons101]

@@JustherefortheLOLZ We were on the tour 4 or 5 times and always went to the diversion tunnel, a bit on the loud side.... lol

[@bigbaddms]

@@jetsons101I never saw the diversion tunnel. Wasn’t it only being used in 83? Did you see it then? And how loud?

[@origGooglieWooglie]

SAME! my dad was super excited.

[@ehhjeep]

13:38 dude you really need to learn how to read a map! The Colorado river flow to the Gulf of California not the Gulf of Mexico.

[@spiritofgroot1999]

Yea, and it’s the gulf of America anyway!

[@yoshisan262]

It’s fine - it won’t cause any problems in the Gulf of America at least. 😂😂🤪

[@Nick-ye5kk]

California and Mexico seem very similar to us Brits

[@krozareq]

@@spiritofgroot1999 Gulf of 'Murica! There is a Colorado River that flows into the Gulf of Mexico. I suppose his team looked up the wrong one. Kind of our fault for using duplicate names.

[@pmgn8444]

Well, a collapse of Hoover Dam one way to restore the Colorado River Delta as it enters the Sea Of Cortez. Unless it cuts a new channel and goes into the Salton Sink. That would enlarge the Salton Sea.

[@JosephJanitorius-p5v]

Maybe that will bring the tourists back.

[@personzorz]

If Salton kept rising, where would it eventually drain?

[@pmgn8444]

@@personzorz If the sink filled up, it would drain at the south end of the Salton Sink. It would more-or-less flood El Centro CA, Imperial, CA, Calexico, CA, and Mexicali, Mexico before entering the Sea Of Cortez (aka the Gulf Of California) in or near the Colorado river delta.

[@pedrodepacas-ic1cb]

Wish I could have seen the central valley and lake Owens before all the water diversion projects.

[@davidbright8978]

Flooding of the Colorado is how the salton sea has been refilled

[@WeAreTheTrueMedia]

This scriptwriter should work in Hollywood using such a huge volume of 'if's and but's'.

[@4362mont]

Low water, over-engineering from another age, and the fact that it's getting harder still make the chances of failure even more remote than I thought.

[@Morendral]

This channel is going kurzgesagt existential dark now. Love it

[@krozareq]

In reality the area is ready for dead pool. The Hoover dam's generating capacity has been at 705MW and lower for years. Grand Coulee dam has 6.8GW gen capacity by comparison. It only ranks 30th in all hydroelectric station in the US. If Mead was full, it would be just over 2GW.

[@PeyotZET]

My brother, the last time I saw the Hoover Dam it had like 2 liters of water left behind it; we'd be fine.

[@RobertJarecki]

Actually, 3 US Customary pints.

[@GreenWitch420]

😂 Glen Canyon Dam's feeling the same thirst! I drive across it on a fairly regular basis and it's heartbreaking to watch Powell getting low low low low low low low low light it's wearing Apple Bottom jeans and boots with the fur (fur).

[@backcountry164]

Turns out living and farming in a desert isn't a great idea...

[@nzsmithsi]

What a shocker

[@Rambam1776]

There's only so much land on the planet. You either have to terraform it or limit human birth at some point

[@PalleRunquist-d5c]

Lack of food will naturally limit population size

[@Rambam1776]

@PalleRunquist-d5c possibly, but I'm not a great fan of malthusian thinking. This is just one of several ways we're going to have to Star Trek our future if the species is going to survive

[@Pilvenuga]

@PalleRunquist-d5c Lack of food will cause starvation, which makes the most powerful parts of society to grasp even greater control over the populace. in order to assure food supply to their children/power bloc, while dooming the populace outside that circle. yeah, you're right - it is a natural process.

[@edmain1137]

I've driven across the dam countess times as a commercial driver with 80,000 pound loads. This weight has been in both single box and double trailers. Never had a problem. One advantage I have as a trucker is with the high walls on the new bridge I get to see over the top and enjoy the view of the dam below.

[@iowa_don]

I'm going to go WAY out on a limb here - it would be bad, super BAD. Been there several times. Great tour.

[@russward2612]

When I was a wee lad, more than half a century ago, my family put our homemade Boy Scout kayaks in the Colorado River at the base of the dam. It was an awesome sight to see.

[@AirborneDan173rd]

Full blown lounge mode, need to start a gofundme to get him a few new shirts.

[@JosephJanitorius-p5v]

Something with a tropical motif perhaps.

[@matthangan7944]

Nothing wrong with being comfortable

[@abdosimon]

Mr Armani over here

[@snarl3027]

Completely unprofessional!!! I agree!!!

[@undertow2142]

His beard has a fresh trim though so it cancels out.

[@theresemalmberg955]

One of my favorite books as a child was "Who Built the Dam" about the Hoover Dam. It was part of a series which included "Who Built the Bridge" and "Who Built the Skyscraper." I took them out of the library so often that I thought that we owned them but my mother said no. This was the early 1960's and little girls weren't really supposed to be into such stuff. I guess I never got that memo. Big bridges, big dams, and big buildings still fascinate me. And yes, a trip to Hoover Dam is on my bucket list!

[@SpottedHares]

Maybe we will finally find Jimmy Hoffa.

[@jaredwhite4955]

As a resident of Bullhead City, I have often wondered about the likelihood of Hoover Dam failing. We do have evacuation route signs posted around the valley, but few ever talk about this. Another slight notable is the next pair of dams down stream including Davis Dam and Parker Dam and the amount of water each of those holds back.

[@elizabethdavis1696]

You should make a whole series of videos on hypothetical dam failures and actual dam failures though out history and make a playlist for them

[@elizabethdavis1696]

Dams would be a good playlist

[@inmyimage1081]

Not with this writer…

[@freddiecarr7602]

Thank you, Simon! Growing up my grandfather said his twin was buried in the damn---now I know he was trying to contribute to the family's history of mental problems!

[@yellads]

Looking at the topography of the area, it seems catastrophic floods are not unusual... those deep canyons and gorges were not made by wind...

[@personzorz]

As climate changes over the 100,000-year glacial cycle, different parts of the United States get drastically different climates. Where do you think all those salt flats came from? A wetter period. That, however, is not the climate we are going into. We are going into one where it's even drier.

[@emu071981]

Deep canyons and gorges are not made by floods either, they are made by slow and steady erosion over millions of years (5-6 million for the Grand Canyon).

[@chuckd9007]

​@@personzorztry warmer and wetter. Overall rainfall worldwide increases as temperature increases.

[@yellads]

@@emu071981 That is one school of thought yes... Are you denying the Missoula floods created canyons?

[@personzorz]

@@chuckd9007 Overall yes, but this particular area should dry. Others would get much wetter.

[@RobertStewart-i3m]

I've been across the dam many times, before the bypass. It's very impressive. If you ever have the chance, walk across it, at least on it

[@tiny_tex]

to be fair to our poor confused writers, there is a Colorado River in Texas that flows into the Gulf of Mexico(America, lol), BUT, this isn't that river. We have more than one Colorado River, and the one that ends in the Gulf is entirely in Texas, and has nothing to do with the Dam.

[@TenchiFox]

Hello, resident of the Southwest here. Great video. Fun fact, Scottsdale Arizona has one of the highest per capita number of golf courses in the USA. Add to that the lax water conservancy laws and the many lawns in neighborhoods through the region, and it’s not much of a mystery where the water all goes.

[@billyt.7306]

Back in 2015 there was a KZbinr named Mikey Bolts and he did a video making voice impressions of the president's. When he does Hoover I LOL every time. Just the first thing I thought about🤙

[@amirmohamad2270]

The real question is "Is siding with the yes-man truly the best choice for Mojave, in particular new vegas?"

[@hardrockuniversity7283]

Hoover dead pool would not be permanent at all. Every spring would replenish things to a significant extent. However, water use and power use would have to be modified substantially.

[@dark_winter8238]

Exactly. Watering lawns and golf courses would be outlawed, and farm and industry use would be closely monitored.

[@hardrockuniversity7283]

Yep, but 'dead pool' would not be catastrophic as described. After all, it started below dead pool when built.

[@pantern2]

@@hardrockuniversity7283 I don't know how to explain this if you don't understand it yourself, but let me try; the level for dead pool wouldn't be the same as it is now before the dam was built. Because before the river was flowing unhampered. It isn't until after the dam is actually there that it would even begin to fill up...

[@hardrockuniversity7283]

@@pantern2 That is true. But it DID fill up. The problem is they are USING more water at times than flows in. A major part of the problem is that when the original interstate and international agreements were agreed upon on how to share the water, the estimate was off and the actual amount available was less than what they thought. The Colorado River has not reached the Sea of Cortez EXCEPT during the flood in a long time.

[@c6q3a24]

@@hardrockuniversity7283 This problem is obviously caused by decades of gross incompetence and extreme negligence. The solution is simple - use less water. Stop pissing away the amazing gift that was given to you by your ancestors, stop destroying it.

[@MichaelWhalen-f7n]

Simon, magnificent as always. Can you produce a video on the Vaiont dam disaster in Italy? Thanks!

[@blshouse]

Droughts and wildfires are normal natural occurrences for that part of the US. It is epic mismanagement that is making things more difficult than they should be.

[@Kowalski089]

For the record, it’s “Boulder Dam” to the locals. They’re still upset about Herbert Hoover rocking up 13 years AFTER it was finished to change the name from the town and people that built it to his own. IMO, it’s a fair point.

[@JP-sk1fu]

Because Hoover wasn't worth a dam.

[@SethDavis96]

Megatron is gonna escape

[@crazyeyez1502]

Him and the AllSpark

[@bremnersghost948]

My local Dam was built around 1287AD to power a corn mill, its been overtopped a few times but held, if it failed it would take out my Sons School and the 24/7 Asda amongst a lot more on its way to the River Calder, glad we live a lot higher than the flood plain :)

[@harveyh3696]

So, should California be funneling water towards the east instead of draining it into the Pacific ocean?

[@JeffBilkins]

Colorado river is already so over exploited it doesn't really reach the sea anymore.

[@harveyh3696]

@@JeffBilkins That's a sad truth.

[@Stopthisrightnow560]

There's a phenomenon that happened in Australia some years ago after widespread drought and then sudden, floodjng rain. The water released from the dam couldn't penetrate the ground because it was so hard, leading to massive flooding anyway. That's the danger with droughts.

[@Max-lz5ym]

13:38 wtf … how can you mistake that for the Gulf of Mexico?

[@ParanormalHoodLiveRadio]

Because that's what it is called all around the world. Just because you are part of a boot licking red hat wearing cult who believes that doesn't mean people with a brain do.

[@ParanormalHoodLiveRadio]

Because that's what its called all around the world.

[@jerichofalls8236]

All I know is...we won't go quietly...the legion can count on that.

[@infidelcastro5129]

15:38 “Brian Reynolds”? 😂

[@maisonavery]

Oh, I actually didn’t know that that bridge was built in an addition to the damn I didn’t know everyone had to drive across the dam if you were driving through that way, they now have a really nice path where you can walk across the bridge and get an awesome view of the damn as well and then you can drive all the way up through the dam and up to a cool little station and see the Lookout hut. I really enjoyed it and then went through Vegas and then went through St. George and then went my way through Lake Powell and checked out Glen Canyon lolvery cool place

[@logy7]

9:20 What? Even your own map clearly shows the waters released from the Roosevelt Dam being DOWNSTREAM of the Hoover, and not impacting it whatsoever.

[@chadmueller5356]

I heard that too, made me question it for a second, living in Apache Junction. Thanks for noticing that too!

[@koletaylor3636]

Definitely neither up or downstream, it’s a completely different river system until the salt flows into the Gila at Gila Bend (hence the name) and then into Yuma where it meets the Colorado river.

[@logy7]

@@koletaylor3636 If it meets the Colorado at some point (where it doesn't necessarily need water flowing) it will be either up or down stream. In this instance, downstream.

[@koletaylor3636]

@ but there is no way for the Roosevelt Dam waters to reach Lake Mead

[@logy7]

@ Agreed. We both are saying it doesn't fill Lake Mead. I'm just saying it joins the Colorado River downstream of the Hoover Dam.

[@derfdilla]

I remember when i was a kid (90s) we would drive over the dam and we saw the overflow working a couple times. It's been sad the last couple decades seeing the water get so low

[@alexfoster6718]

@13:40 Gulf of California, not Gulf of Mexico

[@xtreme242]

Simon, Roosevelt dam is not on the Little Colorado but the Salt River in the Tonto basin. This is a tributary of the Colorado yes but at the lower end after flowing into the Gila River. Which connects to the Colorado around Yuma

[@tid418]

The deadpool doom and gloom does not make sense to me. You make it sound like a time bomb waiting to detonate and ruin everything as the water level keeps dropping, as if everything would be fine up until then, and after that hypothetical bomb detonates, all is lost. Something is missing in the description as such. According to the infographic you showed, deadpool is the height at which no further flow through the dam is possible. If it did reach that point, the flow would stop completely, but as long as water is still flowing in from upstream, the level would immediately begin to rise (if there is inflow but no outflow, it is the only thing that can happen), putting it above deadpool once again. The volume of water flowing into Lake Mead is the same as the water flowing out of it via the dam plus the evaporation, so if the inflow exceeds evaporation, the level necessarily has to rise if there is no outflow. I am not a hydrologist, so I do not know where the discrepancy lies, but the level cannot simply remain at deadpool unless the water flowing in also stops, which would indicate that something has already happened upstream, perhaps at Lake Powell. As long as there is inflow, there has to be just as much outflow as well (less the evaporation that takes place in Lake Mead itself).

[@Skyrunner_84]

Fact Boi correction: The Roosevelt Dam does not hold back the little colorado. It holds back the Salt River inside Lake Roosevelt (named after Teddy, not that other guy). This is my home river. The lower salt, below Lake roosevelt is a great area to explore in kayaks. I was actually at that dam just days ago. Thank god they finally opened Apache Trail again! Also fun fact the Salt River lakes (or Great lakes of Arizona) spell out SCAR (Saguaro, Canyon, Apache and Roosevelt) going from Phoenix/Mesa upstream to Roosevelt.

[@joshbobst1629]

Gulf of Mexico? Gulf of Mexico?

[@joelwexler]

Never heard of it.

[@pedrodepacas-ic1cb]

Gulf of 'Murica

[@iceguy9723]

The Mike O'Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge, just down river, is an underrated visit.

[@YoItsTrev]

You should do more items failing videos, and create a new channel and call it Nega Projects! All negative videos.

[@BTM666-t7r]

That sounds a little too close to a certain n word.

[@Darkflowerchyld718]

7:45 Fact Boi channeling his inner MythBuster 😂😂😂

[@JosephJanitorius-p5v]

To be safe, I just scheduled my perhaps last-ever vacation to Las Vegas.

[@ScottLovenberg]

Put it all on black and close your eyes to see if you're rich, broke or dead. Hear the sound of chips being pulled on velvet and groan. Go home, tell your SO, close your eyes and focus on, "rich wasn't the outcome" to the sound of a tire iron on the upside of your head.

[@SRW_]

Don't forget to visit the strip

[@JosephJanitorius-p5v]

@@SRW_ ...club?

[@SRW_]

@@JosephJanitorius-p5v What?

[@ExcavationNation]

Bit of a myth, the concrete is not still curing. It would have been if one pour. Even though that would have been impossible.

[@amanofnoreputation2164]

Paroling the Mojave almost makes you wish for a nuclear winter.

[@josephrizzoiii]

Fantastic video, and thank you for lowering my ignorance on the topic of deadpools. All the best to you and your family.

[@pedrodepacas-ic1cb]

Deadpool: Bye, bye, bye

[@RobertJarecki]

One must also consider: How much lower than "deadpool" was the water level when the dam started to fill immediately after completion? Answer: a lot

[@mrtjbiga1784]

next video , ( what if the moon fell out of the sky)

[@crazyeyez1502]

Movie - Moonfall

[@rogerpenske2411]

Roosevelt Lake and Roosevelt Dam are on the salt river, not on the Colorado river. The Phoenix area gets most of its drinking water from three lakes in the mountains north east of town, Roosevelt Lake being the largest of them. The central Arizona project or CP,Thomas from Lake Havasu into Phoenix and then down to Tucson. That water is also used for domestic use, but it is primarily for agricultural use.

[@SheAirFire]

As an AZ resident there seem to be some inaccuracies...Be that as it may, the flow would spill into the Gulf of Mexico??? So it would flow all the way across New Mexico, Texas, and/or multiple Northern Mexico states???

[@berndmayer3984]

The strength of a dam is determined by its cross-sectional area and height and not by the amount of water stored. With a canal lock it doesn't matter how long the following section is!

[@RAS_Squints]

Hover Dam hasn't fallen since the second battle at Hover Dam

[@brianjones8673]

As we seem to be rushing into WW3 im glad you're doing videos on everyone's war crime targets.

[@guycullum3927]

They need to start putting floating solar on the lake, it will help stop evaporation, when it is large enough, but will act as the replacement for hydro power when the turbines can not run. With the location having all the needed electrical connectors to the grid it will stave off two potential issues, at least for daylight time power production.

[@schaind11]

I keep hoping that someone doesn't drive over it yelling my god is greater. Good thing big trucks have to go over the new bridge.

[@michaelpipkin9942]

I had everything I owned on top of my truck can they spent an hour and something going through all of it. But I appreciated it.

[@bradlevantis913]

An excellent documentary about the Colorado River is on Nebula, called the Colorado Problem, well worth the watch

[@nunya___]

Other than the obvious, just vague blather. "Communities below the damn would be devastated and many would lose their lives." Wow that's some real genius sh]t bruh. Megawaste-of-time.

[@ignitionfrn2223]

1:10 - Chapter 1 - The dam 1:30 - Mid roll ads 2:30 - Back to the video 7:25 - Chapter 2 - Collapse & ramifications 15:00 - Chapter 3 - A more realistic crisis

[@michaelpipkin9942]

Merci!

[@dantemoose420]

Well, firstly, i'd laugh. Then I'd laugh again. Then I might feel bad for the southwest. But probably not.

[@mj.ray0898]

Obvious troll, but I'll bite, why would this make you laugh? The dam provides hydroelectric power on a massive scale to millions of people, and if Lake Mead drained downstream due to a collapse it would flood the entire way downstream. A number of cities built along the river would be destroyed. If this idea makes you happy, I suggest you seriously reevaluate what kind of person you want to be.

[@dantemoose420]

@mj.ray0898 people succumbing to hubris is peak comedy. We play God, God gets pissy about it. Also fuck the entirety of the Southwest.

[@dantemoose420]

(note; I don't actually think it's a god getting upsetty spaghetti. But there's only so far you can push nature before it ruins your entire year.)

[@Jul-66]

@@dantemoose420 I'll be seeing your hometown on the weather news soon enough. 😉

[@dantemoose420]

@Jul-66 unlikely. Weather's not a concern. We have more mundane threats, like earthquakes, fires, and uppity Californians.

[@drjonbear7517]

This was an EPIC video! So many rabbit holes to go down to investigate. Excellent work team!

[@Bob_Smith19]

So many basic facts wrong in this one. Learn to read a map.

[@cfhfan2000]

@13:40 he says it ultimately flows into the Gulf of Mexico which is incorrect. It ultimately flows into the Gulf of California. Keep up the great work Simon and staff!

[@raspolive]

Laughlin 18 min south of Hoover damn by car it is over Wong! It's well over an hour.

[@dalecross689]

You check out the Manapouri Hydro dam in New Zealand. It’s 200m under ground. Carved out inside a solid granite mountain. It’s amazing.

[@redbirdsrising]

The Little Colorado River doesn’t feed into Lake Roosevelt, Roosevelt Dam actually spans the Salt River and is its primary water source.

[@sirridesalot6652]

When they did the studies prior to building the Hoover Dam the natives tried to warn them that the Colorado River had been running deeper because of an UNUSUALLY wet period.

[@automechs360]

It is responsible for a lot of the water for crops and city water for Las Vegas and Los Angeles reservoirs. The purpose was partially power and more actually insurance of water going further west. A collapse would result in a flood that contains a lot of the silt that has built up in the lake that it might be more a mud flow rather than a actual flood.

[@thezirons]

Really surprised at how many errors exist in this video. This does not seem like a typical, highly researched, Megaprojects video.

[@Lumi_Tassu]

I think retrieving the platinum chip would've proven to be a tad bit difficult.

[@jasongannon7676]

My grandfather was one of the engineers. His responsibilities were the cement work on the dam.

[@Spaceman719]

It’s getting to nearly a 100 years old! At least they cold build a backup one a little down stream like they did in Switzerland, The old Spitallamm dam built 90 years ago and built the new one in 2019 in front of it.

[@joeblow411]

I was a dam builder across the river deep and wide Where steel and water did collide A place called Boulder on the wild Colorado I slipped and fell into the wet concrete below They buried me in that great tomb that knows no sound But I am still around. I'll always be around. and around and around and Around and around