20 years ago

[LaveyJet]

Twenty years ago this week. Parker Dam was releasing a near record flow of 40,000 cfs causing havoc along the Parker strip. Anyone remember this? There was a late spring snowfall in the upper watershed of the Colorado. Powell and Mead filled quickly. By July all of the dams along the Colorado were wide open.
Glen Canyon dam had a problem with one of the outlets and they actually added plywood to the top of the spillway to increase capacity.
There was a cavitation problem from the high velocity flows in the outlet tube on the Arizona side of the dam. The concrete lining of the outlet started to erode away. The engineers knew they had a problem when the water flowing out of the outlet was the same color red as the native sandstone. So they had to close one of the two spillways. But the lake was still rising. Plywood flashboards were added to the top of the spillway gates to increase the lakesÂ’ capacity, all the penstocks were opened, and everyone prayed. It worked. Later engineers found the concrete was completely gone in some areas along the outlet tube and flows were eroding the native rock. eek! Scary
At least the Dam held up :D

[Beautiful Noise]

I was there that week,Buckskin was flooded out no opening's Echo Lodge was Closed SO we ended up at Emerald Cove we lasted till mid-week before the Sheriff's came around and told us the River was Offically Closed that we had 1 hour to get the Boat's off the water,If we didn't they would give us a $500.00 fine,So we had to move up to Black Meadow's for the rest of the Week :(
Steve

[gigamurph]

Remember it well! We were livin' in LHC at the time and drove down to the dam and got some pix of the outflow (don't ask to see them 'cause I have no idea where they're at). Geezus that was some racket! Sounded like a train with rockets strapped onto it! Ya know;the one thing I seem to remember was the brouhaha that the people below the dam raised because the Havasu levels were well below normal for a majority of the event and the fact that ya couldn't use 95 because the River was overrunnin' the banks in some spots.....and Beautiful Noise was there? Man; I don't remember seein' ya; ya ol' fart! :D

[Beautiful Noise]

gigamurph
drove down to the dam and got some pix of the outflow (don't ask to see them 'cause I have no idea where they're at). Geezus that was some racket! [/QB]That was something to see with all the Gate's Open :) :)
Steve

[BUSTI]

What a sight to see the gates open! We had our trailer at Rivershores then and some of the inspecting engineers were staying at the motel next door. I remember them telling us their fear was that you can open any valve against pressure but the trick is to close a valve against pressure! Since the gates had not been opened in their entire history since construction they were worried. Can you believe they built Parker Dam in the mid 1930's with steam shovels! Some body told me once that Parker dam held the worlds record as the deepest dam in the world for many years. That is to say below the river bed that they had to go 365 feet down to hit bed rock in order to build the foundation. Is that true? :D

[gigamurph]

BUSTI:
What a sight to see the gates open! We had our trailer at Rivershores then and some of the inspecting engineers were staying at the motel next door. I remember them telling us their fear was that you can open any valve against pressure but the trick is to close a valve against pressure! Since the gates had not been opened in their entire history since construction they were worried. Can you believe they built Parker Dam in the mid 1930's with steam shovels! Some body told me once that Parker dam held the worlds record as the deepest dam in the world for many years. That is to say below the river bed that they had to go 365 feet down to hit bed rock in order to build the foundation. Is that true? :D Yep; true all! If I'm not mistaken, I believe it is srill the deepest dam in the world. It may have been surpassed but as of a few years ago it still held that distinction. Ya know, I was still drinkin' at that time and not one of you bogarts came out and offered me a cold one! Noew me I might understand, but the ol' lady was a REAL LOOKER (she's still a REAL LOOKER for a.....well, let's just say she's older now) then and never wore anything other than her bikini at that time. You'd think that ya would have at least offered her one! You guys are euther homo or real tightwads with your brews! :p

[NastyOne]

20 years ago I was 1 cry

[HavasuDreamin']

I was 8 years old.........and I remember it. I believe water was flowing over the top of Hoover Damn. I saw that too. Amazing.

[Up 4 River]

I remember the flooding that occured down river as well. My dad and grandpa has a place at Walters camp down near Blythe and the house was at least 3 feet in water and we went around in my neighbors tin boat helping the other neighbors.

[Beautiful Noise]

I was Camped at Emerald Cove we had a stick in the water marking the water level it was amazing how much the water was rising each day,We would be out Cruising around (before we got kicked off the Water) staying away from the Home's just outside of the Key's because they had water in there home's.Most People had already placed Sand Bag's to prevent water from getting BUT alot of them were to late :(
Steve
[ July 18, 2003, 01:49 PM: Message edited by: Beautiful Noise ]

[Boatcop]

I've got pictures. I'll try and dig them out, scan, and post them.
Parker Dam is still the deepest, in terms of depth below the riverbed. in the World.
The real cause of the '83 flood was Lake Powell. Glen Canyon Dam was finished and begun to fill in 1963. The estimate was 20 year fill time. In '83, when Lake Powell was nearly full, there was a late heavy snow in the Rockies, followed by an almost immediate hot spell.
Those people who built in the Colorado River Floodplain were lulled into a false sense of security by 20 years of consistant water flow and River/Lake levels.
The Bureau of Wrecklamation (mispelling intentional) wasn't prepared, because they wanted to show the maximum amount of water in storage upon the filling of Powell. Before the massive unexpected run-off, all lakes, Powell, Mead, Mohave, and Havasu, not to mention the storage lake outside of Yuma, Mittrey Lake, were near 100% full.
OOPS! eek!
Let's just say that Mexico got more then their treatied allotment of Colorado River water that year.
The rest, as they say, is history.
I'll get the pictures up later.

[TCHB]

Yes I remember becase we cound not use our boat on the river for a while. We had a mobile home on the water about 6 ft up and it was ok. I have pictures of the cabanas at riverland with about 4ft of water under the cover.

[Duck]

Drove me crazy to see the river empty and not be able to boat on it. Lots of sandbags and damaged docks from the flow. Shot Parker Dam on Super 8 film, but am really pissed I didn't go up to Hoover and see the overflows in action for only the second time (first was to see that they could work properly).