0:00
watching a sinkhole at the Rapidan Dam
0:01
in Minnesota was no more a nightmare yes
0:04
it's a reality resulting in displacement
0:10
residents this episode highlights a
0:12
critical issue we've known about for
0:13
years thousands of dams in America are
0:16
in such poor condition that they risk
0:26
collapse now this is not something I
0:28
could have easily said it's an alarm
0:33
situation you know that the United
0:35
States is home to roughly 990,000
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significant dams over 4,000 of these
0:40
dams are in poor or unsatisfactory
0:42
condition posing serious
0:54
risk when I say serious it's really
0:57
serious like a major flooding could
0:58
wreak havoc maintaining these aging
1:00
Giants with an average age of around 60
1:03
years is a costly Endeavor resources are
1:06
often limited making the task even
1:10
tougher take the Rapidan Dam in Blue
1:13
Earth County Minnesota for example built
1:16
in 1910 this hydroelectric dam was
1:19
severely damaged by recent floods
1:22
although it's no longer producing power
1:24
due to past flood damages the county has
1:26
been grappling with whether to spend $15
1:29
million on on repairs or a staggering
1:31
$82 million to remove it a federal
1:35
inspection in May didn't flag major
1:37
problems but flood debris clogged the
1:39
dam causing the river to carve a new
1:41
path around it fortunately this wasn't
1:43
linked to its repair needs in Texas
1:46
recent floods damaged the spillway of
1:48
the Lake Livingston Dam which holds
1:50
drinking water for Houston in deep east
1:52
Texas crews are working around the clock
1:55
to repair the Lake Livingston Dam it was
1:58
damaged by cat atrophic flooding forcing
2:01
officials to declare a potential failure
2:05
watch officials reassured the public
2:07
that the dam isn't in immediate danger
2:09
of failing however as climate change
2:12
brings more intense storms the pressure
2:14
on these structures only increases most
2:16
dams are safe but failures though rare
2:19
can be catastrophic remember the 2017
2:22
Orville Dam crisis in California the
2:25
oral Dam are expected to hit record
2:26
levels right now water continues to gush
2:29
over this damaged Spillway nearly
2:32
190,000 people had to evacuate due to
2:34
Spillway damage from Heavy Rain or the
2:37
2020 Edenville Dam breach in Michigan
2:39
which led to another Dam's failure
2:41
Downstream Engineers who investigated
2:43
these incidents highlight that many dams
2:45
weren't originally designed to withstand
2:51
weather but what has just happened that
2:53
has aggravated the situation yes the
2:55
climate change extreme weather
2:57
intensified by climate change is
2:59
worsening the problem the Outlook is not
3:01
good this year the ocean temperature is
3:03
very high there are more hurricanes
3:05
there is more heavy rainfall so you also
3:07
have to see if the criteria still meet
3:08
the current extreme climate
3:13
conditions repairing all these dams
3:15
isn't cheap the association of State Dam
3:17
safety officials estimates it would cost
3:19
$150 billion to make all the dam safe
3:22
again but the US government has
3:24
allocated just $3 billion in its $1
3:26
trillion infrastructure master plan as
3:29
per surveys and reports it is known that
3:32
Americans accept late maintenance
3:34
because they pay less in taxes Americans
3:36
are good at helping when there is a
3:38
disaster but they don't want to give
3:40
money to prevent a potential
3:44
disaster but it's not all doom and gloom
3:47
according to experts not all dams need
3:49
immediate action it is about the dams
3:51
that are most at risk and most impactful
3:53
if they collapse these are known experts
3:56
and Engineers are working hard to try to
3:57
fix them big cities like New York York
4:00
are well protected New York's water
4:01
supply comes from the Catskill Mountains
4:04
a forested area in Northern New York
4:06
with large reservoirs the dams there are
4:09
constantly monitored and adhere to the
4:14
requirements so what's the takeaway here
4:17
our nation's dams are aging and in
4:19
desperate need of attention it's up to
4:21
us Engineers Builders and concerned
4:23
citizens to push for the resources and
4:25
regulations needed to keep these
4:27
structures safe thanks for tuning in and
4:29
don't forget to subscribe for more vital
4:31
updates together we can ensure our Dam
4:34
stand strong for generations to come see
