I would like to know the possible ramifications or scenarios if dams loose power. We live just below Davis Dam which does supply some electrical power. Davis Dam is located not far below Hoover Dam. My questions are: (and I'm sorry I'm not very knowledgeable on this subject or the correct terminology) If the dam looses power, is it possible for the turbine doors that the water flows through to close if there is a shut down? I'm not exactly sure what questions to ask but I'm worried about a prolonged shut down of power and the possibility of flooding. I've not found any website that has touched much on this subject. Any information would be helpful. Thank you Toni

-- Anonymous, March 04, 1999

Answers

Toni- I just read something on that VERY recently... definite. (And it gave me very mixed feelings.) :(

Pretty sure it was in one of the (gov) documents mentioned/ref'd to in this forum. Perhaps the NERC report? Check a few out.

-- Anonymous, March 04, 1999

A very large tonnage of barge traffic is carried through navigation locks on inland waterways of the United States. Loss of power to operate any lock would certainly stop barge traffic on the river in question, interrupting movement of essential bulk commodities.

-- Anonymous, March 04, 1999

Toni, I have searched the Department of the Interior and Bureau of Reclamation sites for information which might provide answers for you, and haven't found anything. There is an explanation of the Hoover Dam and the power generating facilities at the dam at:

http://www.hooverdam.com/workings/main.htm

There is also a link with addresses and contacts for people at the Bureau of Reclamation at:

http://www.usbr.gov/main/aboutus/addresses.html

Perhaps you could e-mail, phone or fax your questions to the office nearest you and see what they can tell you? It was frustrating that there were no Y2K info links I could find on any of these sites. Maybe I just didn't look hard enough, but I didn't have any more time to spend in the search. Sorry I couldn't come up with any definitive info to help you out.

-- Anonymous, March 05, 1999