Rapidan Dam - July 12, 2024

(Southwest of Mankato, Minnesota.)
After the failure of the left bank caused by the 2024 floods

[@cj_daniel]

If you have questions, I think Casey Jones answers a lot of them here in a recent video with updated information: kzbin.info/www/bejne/noDUZWasm6Z2hqs

[@nicotti]

Thank you for the update! No way for us non-MN-ers to keep up now that it's dropped off the news cycle without peeps like you!

[@cj_daniel]

Glad to know folks are still interested. I now know to try to get more footage if I visit down there again.

[@MrSaemichlaus]

In this case, this will be a long standing monument to the success of engineering, and to the failures of management.

[@scottgorski7931]

My thought exactly, looks like once it was built those in charge decided no further action was required. Like an occasional draw down to inspect the structure. Mainly the power plant section where the moving parts were.

[@173jaSon371]

Nah, mother nature always wins, no matter how much you try to prevent it. Might take a while sometimes, but she always prevails.

[@gordybishop2375]

@@173jaSon371the Dam held….River said hold my beer.

[@dawsonl]

The dam had been damaged in 2019 and 2020 to the point that the county was trying to decide between an expensive repair and much more expensive removal. That was probably a factor. But, don't underestimate the power of massive downpours. The watershed for the river got between 6-8" of rain in 48 hours. At a certain point it becomes impossible to make something nature proof. www.dnr.state.mn.us/climate/journal/extreme-rain-flooding-southern-minnesota-june-20-22.html

[@9999deoxys]

Failure of government. They should never have built that dam in the first place.

[@omegalamda3145]

The French curve is a master stroke of natures genius!

[@greggreg2263]

The river runs free through this area now😘

[@douglasskaalrud6865]

@@greggreg2263 And now they’ll have to leave a carbon footprint.

[@adelechicken6356]

This shows the wonders of drone photography, being able to get so close and show the extent of the changes in the landscape and structures. Thanks. 😊

[@theVoyage]

That looks like a beautiful whitewater rapid now. Incredible how much material the river has taken away in such time short period of time.

[@karstic]

Thanks for the update!. It looks like the river bed has been completely eroded from under the pile cap of the bridge pier.

[@steveratzlaff]

Thanks for the update!

[@paulstecker5693]

😢😮 I'll just say I hope the father, mother and brother that live together can get on with their life and they can rebuild their store again. I heard at one point they were up to $60,000 in contributions. Hopefully it goes a lot higher than that and then maybe they'll be able to rebuild a nice new store for business. Again, thank you!.

[@Taliesin1997]

It's a father and his daughter and son.

[@paulstecker5693]

@@Taliesin1997 ❤️👍😀 thanks friend for the response back. I'm glad you like my comment. What I said about that. Thank you. Good luck to you.

[@lisasimonson5765]

Chris Thank You for this beautiful video this is still unbelievable.

[@zeke5491]

New tourist attraction and lesson learned

[@badneed]

The Dam is still standing rock solid. The soil around the outside is what is missing.

[@ut000bs]

The flotsam was allowed to accumulate above the dam until the normal spillway was compromised and mostly plugged. When the high water came the dam could not handle it and overflowed. Erosion took care of the rest. The water always makes it to the sea, I guess.

[@jonnie2bad]

thanks captain obvious!

[@steven.h0629]

Thanks for the update. amazing 👍😎✊

[@ThomasWheelers]

Somehow the struggle of this small community was our heartthrob for what? A week, ten days or so and we move on. I so fell in love with this community. Thank you for taking me back to where I fell in love with neighbors I can only visit with the help of folks like you. With KZbin we can over ride the bureaucratic nightmare that is this country at this time. Thank you my kind one.

[@noshot5793]

Crazy to see what nature can do. The whole river prior to the dam shifted to the right.

[@ericfielding2540]

Great job on the drone video. The river is trying to go back to where it was before they built the dam a century ago.

[@Mac_Omegaly]

Rapidan rapids are looking more stable.

[@TheKurtsPlaceChannel]

Very nice video. Thanks for posting this.

[@aurelienclair4465]

Wow. That's a lot of damage but the dam itself resisted well.

[@KurganNazzir]

I'd been wondering how much more erosion happened since The Dam Store was torn down because at that time there was still a road (driveway?) between the store and the new river bank, and now I see that's gone and the bank is right by where the store was (1:49). [edited because stupid me left off some letters when changing how I worded something and I didn't notice until later.]

[@VermontScaleCustoms]

Dibs on the jon boat.

[@KellyClowers]

amazing how smooth much of that cut is!

[@MrUranium238]

The river is happy once again

[@techwolflupindo]

Sad to think this could all be avoided by clearing out the wood that was blocking the flow way before it started to overflow.

[@studiohost]

River looks content, again !

[@thomasmaughan4798]

Looks like a good kayaking spot.

[@maidenminnesota1]

All of that could have been avoided if they hadn't been so cheap and indecisive about what to do with a decommissioned dam. If they had removed it (yes, the more expensive option), it would NOT have overflowed, and that family would still have their home and business. Remember: ALL government, from the local to the highest levels, are NOT the solution to our problems, rather they are the cause of our problems.

[@lawrenceh.8728]

All they had to do was blow the dam and that would have saved the bank and all the lost property and livelihoods! Now, there's just a stupid old dam and a ton of damage. Stupid decisions were made here!

[@mikemorgan5015]

Wow! Great footage. Just when we think we got it figured out, Mother Nature says, "Oh yeah? I'll hold your beer?"

[@Lazy2332]

I still can't understand why it didn't have an emergency overflow spillway. Not only did they choose to be cheap and not build it, but they were also allowed to build it without one and were never forced to install one... This is literally exactly why all of them have one. However, I am still incredibly impressed that the dam itself is still standing. Usually, when this type of thing happens, it takes out the entire dam.

[@1800imawake]

It had an old-school emergency spillway, wooden planks that were to be blown up in an emergency. The "modern" managers in their infinite wisdom decided to do away with them because they were probably too expensive to maintain, just like keeping the existing spillway clean.

[@rogerdudra178]

I guess adding to each side of what's left might make a new dam.

[@melted_cheetah]

That eddy is still churning away at the bank. Shame the store and houses were lost.

[@CardBoardBoxPro]

peopel that say the grand canyon could have been created in weeks look less crazy now lol

[@craighaver8031]

Mother nature taking back what was stolen from her!! Power of water is incredible

[@romanf5061]

I was just going to say the same thing - Mother Nature taking back what's hers

[@rockerpat1085]

Does The Beaver Steal From Mother Nature???

[@antondichtl6557]

@@rockerpat1085 No.

[@rockerpat1085]

@@antondichtl6557 So Only Humans "Steal From Nature"???

[@mike_w-tw6jd]

​@@antondichtl6557 beaver is nature

[@user-wz1qo1cn3i]

Thanks for the video, the media has no longer covered this event. It will be interesting to see what future plans for the area are. Will they dig more to slope the land towards the river so that there is not an unsafe cliff? When will bridge replacement take place? Eventually, I would think the dam would be demolished no reason for the structure now.

[@simonworthington2529]

I do find it amazing as nothing is getting done and all that trash is still there blocking the spillways and no attempt to get the water to divert away from the bank . Are they waiting for more damage to be done? It shows how dams need to be kept clear and spillways to release water in emergencies.

[@cj_daniel]

I am not an expert, but I think they are at least waiting for waters to recede so they can safely get people and equipment into the river to work. Things are still flooded around the area, and the water rushing through there is very dangerous to work near. There is a lot of work to be done, for sure!

[@steveb6103]

​@cjd1701 There were also worries about the bridge being undermined. That's why it's still closed.

[@simonworthington2529]

@@cj_daniel All those trees are out of the water and should be able to grab them from the shore. Shoreline where water level has gone down could be muddy and unstable to walk on.

[@jcoronet2000]

great footage. is there any sign of scour on the bridge piers?

[@douglasskaalrud6865]

There’s a reason those barricades are up.

[@nicotti]

2:43 That pier looks like the concrete is totally out of the water, with just pilings going deeper.

[@jcoronet2000]

@@nicottigood catch, looks like it’s standing on rebar

[@thomasstambaugh5181]

Looks as though the bridge is holding up its middle pier rather than vice-versa. Nothing but rebar from the bottom of the pier to the current surface of the water. The damage to the middle pier is also visible from 0:13 to 0:58.

[@karstic]

at 2:37 you can see the river bottom below the pile cap is completely eroded away

[@brandtfj]

Well that's a mosquito laden cesspool of stagnant water below the dam....

[@mattsimon931]

Never noticed those trees up so high on the damn before, tells you how high the water got.

[@nicotti]

Yeah the water was overtopping it when the bank failed. Also, how much silt was washed out from the reservoir.

[@susanjaeger9851]

There's a melted structure there. Wow.

[@Jerry-ko9pi]

If the county builds the land "Back" do the owners get to or should rebuild there?

[@masterspin7796]

Thats going to be a tough repair I wonder who is going to take the blame...

[@paulbraam332]

The next time you do a video of the dam could you go down underneath the bridge with the Drone and film around the footing that is washed away thank you

[@chrisblain7065]

Oh no! Damn. or Oh, no dam!

[@jameshanson1842]

The river found another track. Obviously, they built the dam in the wrong place. They failed to protect the dam’s flank.

[@mr48jj]

Looks like the old pie store would still be standing if they didn’t rip it out. Kinda shame to see a icon of the past torn down just in case.

[@marvindebot3264]

Mate, it's 20 feet from the edge and the edge is undermined.

[@mike_w-tw6jd]

​@@marvindebot3264 20 feet now

[@mike_w-tw6jd]

it could have been moved

[@ethanlamoureux5306]

@@mike_w-tw6jd The concern was that it would have taken too long to move it, and that the bank would be too unstable to allow heavy equipment in to move the building. I tend to think they were right.

[@mike_w-tw6jd]

@@ethanlamoureux5306 even the mobile home wasnt moved

[@gordybishop2375]

The Dam held…..River said hold my beer.

[@michaelmcclure3777]

Just for sake of discussion, What now? Is a lake needed there? Is there a reason to demolish damn structure, could it be sight seeing destination, if no longer a damn / lake how are areas upstream and down stream affected? I'm not from that area and have no bias one way or another. I feel these questions are going to be applicable in other areas around the country as time goes on.

[@marvindebot3264]

Faaaaark! You can't mess with Mother Nature.

[@derekjanich6263]

Mother Nature doesn't need impact studies!🌧🌪☄🌬

[@andrewrodgers5537]

I was just there on the 7th pretty intense

[@TimedOut...NoWayo]

Been awhile since the Big News. The store is gone? What? I saw the house sadly drop into the river. But looks like the store was leveled and not swept away. While the dam is hailed as still standing, it may well have caused the devastation - at the least contributed to the destruction. Water has it's way - again - and always will.

[@branchandfoundry560]

...Then they wrote it all down as the progress of man. --John Prine's "Paradise"

[@dwaynekoblitz6032]

Damn, everything's gone. So brutal.

[@itwasaliens]

Did they tear down the buildings then?

[@justlookin20101]

What amazes me is that the bridge has baracades up to stop traffic from going over the bridge yet where the car park is you can drive right in and drive right over the cliff edge or park right up to it

[@cj_daniel]

It may not be visible in the video, but I can assure you, there is a fence around the area which no one can miss.

[@robertbate5790]

It's seems the engineering was sound, but the survey went awry somewhere. 🇬🇧

[@tomstarr1779]

No sound here?! Or an an official explanation of why the other highway bridge adjacent to this Dam happens to be cordoned off at both ends.

[@sdsmt99]

There used to be a website called "here, let me Google that for you"

[@RC-qf6wr]

a new river has been made by mother nature

[@Chad-gr3rz]

a great example of the failing infrastucture...

[@plisskenationbackfromthede3657]

Damn

[@jerryfrederick6610]

Shame about the little store and house that fell victim to all the bad decision making.

[@steveharkins279]

Thanks for this, can you check out the “2” of the 7 dam gates on the left of the dam , were they boarded up, leaving the dam with just 5 of it’s gates? Thanks

[@MayaPosch]

Those are the emergency spillways that were bricked up a few years ago. Apparently doing real maintenance on the dam had been pushed back by years, until nature took matters into its own hands...

[@nicotti]

They aren't boarded up, they were concreted over a few years back due to concerns of damage to that bank's protection skirt and the bank itself behind the dam, cause water released from those two bays fall on that bank's concrete skirt. The 5 remaining bays were rated to handle the flow seen in this flood, *had* there not been a blockage.

[@patricklandis3910]

What state is this dam in?😊

[@ricklowers8873]

Minnesota

[@unclelurk1556]

Disrepair?😂

[@patricklandis3910]

@@ricklowers8873 ok thanks

[@patricklandis3910]

@@ricklowers8873 just wondering we had two here in Michigan a couple years back break.

[@steven4315]

Bypassed, river has cut a new channel.

[@gilbert3938]

So why isn't there some manual cleaning going on ?

[@chriscall6868]

Are they just going to let that bridge go down?

[@drunkenmongoose]

just get some flex seal that should fix it right up

[@joeskis]

how are you getting around the cops that don't let anyone get close nor park nearby?

[@trep53]

Dams are not something to mismanage. Rivers are not something to trifle with. It’s not nice to fool Mother Nature!

[@BalkanTimberMan]

just take the dam thing down a start a river restoration project

[@daleolson3506]

Why is the road still blocked off?

[@karstic]

at 2:37 you can see the river bottom below the pile cap is completely eroded away

[@grecco_buckliano]

Last time I saw it the store was still there. I guess they lost the store.

[@mike_w-tw6jd]

torn down

[@Tommork-bq6ms]

Oh my¡!

[@christopherwelch136]

Hey look! It’s no longer a dam… .

[@harold.one.feather]

All the works of man become nothing when facing our Great Spirit’s wrath Learn how to worship or become lost and destroyed like this bridge that would never fall

[@taj1460]

I see the bridge didn't fall Are experts still saying bridge will fall????????

[@Torrque]

Well, that’s a silly damn. Ain’t holding back much. 😂

[@MrUranium238]

😆

[@user-er4pe3yd8p]

Rebuild it...

[@BufordDuckworth]

Crazy that they don't even have the road barricaded or even taped off.

[@forrestunderwood3174]

Free at last.

[@adamjohnson9845]

Greed