Could there be problems at large dams? Could the gates to the spillways lock up and cause water to flood over? Could this cause flooding up or down river? Can anyone think of other concerns? I know very little about dams and how they work, but I'm wondering if it is safe to relocate close to one.

-- Mary (marywest@usa.net), May 13, 1998

Answers

I would definitely NOT want to be downstream (in its flood plain) from a dam for many reasons. The Corps of Engineers that runs alot of these dams doesn't make reasonable decisions during normal times, who would be running the show if Y2k is severe? In this case it doesn't matter whether the dams are computerized or not - there may not be people to take care of them. If they are computerized and the computers go down, then I wouldn't want to bet on what might happen.

Worst case on a dam is that it breaks and wipes out everything below it. To me that is not an acceptable risk.

-- Rebecca Kutcher (kutcher@pionet.net), May 17, 1998.