Dams have represented feats of ingenuity symbolizing the human endeavor to harness the energy of the natural environment throughout history.
But aging infrastructure and unpredictable weather patterns challenge the innovation of even the most brilliant engineers.
Such was the case in 2017 with the Oroville Dam in California. Record-breaking rainfall damaged the emergency spillway of the dam, leading authorities to evacuate nearly 200,000 people who lived downstream along the Feather River.
Standing at 770 feet, the Oroville Dam is the tallest dam in the United States. Before the incident in 2017, it was regularly inspected.
“It was a shock to the dam safety industry,” Dina Hunt, the president of the U.S. Society on Dams (USSD), told The Epoch Times....
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