The Sunday Read: ‘The Trillion- Gallon Question’
The Daily23 Jul 2023

The Sunday Read: ‘The Trillion- Gallon Question’

On the morning of Feb. 7, 2017, two electricians were working on a warning siren near the spillway of Oroville Dam, 60 miles north of Sacramento, when they heard an explosion. As they watched, a giant plume of water rose over their heads, and chunks of concrete began flying down the hillside toward the Feather River. The dam’s spillway, a concrete channel capable of moving millions of gallons of water out of the reservoir in seconds, was disintegrating in front of them. If it had to be taken out of service, a serious rainstorm, like the one that had been falling on Northern California for days, could cause the dam — the tallest in the United States — to fail.

Kory Honea, the sheriff of Butte County, which includes the dam and the town it is named for, first heard that something was wrong from Dino Corbin, a local radio personality, who called him at his office: “Are you aware there’s a hole in the spillway?” Around the same time, one of the sheriff’s dispatchers received a confusing message from California’s Department of Water Resources, which owns the dam, saying it was conducting a “routine inspection” after reports of an incident.

At the dam, department officials closed the gates at the top of the spillway to prevent any more of its concrete slabs from being lost in what an independent forensic report prepared after the incident described as “a sudden, explosive failure.” The flow of water stopped. The rain, however, didn’t.

In the six years since the near-failure of the Oroville Dam, dam operators across the country have begun to reassess the structures under their control, looking for hidden weaknesses: the cracks in the spillway, the hillside that crumbles at the first sign of water. That work is necessary, but it may not be enough to prevent the next disaster. Bigger storms are on the way.

This story was recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

Episoder(2692)

Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2017

Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2017

From fateful call to resignation, the 47-day fall of President Trump’s national security adviser, Michael T. Flynn. We tell the whole story. Guest: Matthew Rosenberg, a national security reporter for The New York Times who has known Mr. Flynn for years. For more information on today’s episode, visit http://nyti.ms/2l7w8ls. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

15 Feb 201717min

Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2017

Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2017

America and the Middle East in the Trump administration: deep, personal ties and an emerging plan for peace. Guests: Jodi Kantor, a reporter for The New York Times; Amanda Taub and Max Fisher, who write The Times’ Interpreter column. For more information on today’s episode, visit http://nyti.ms/2kFDqvC. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

14 Feb 201720min

Monday, Feb. 13, 2017

Monday, Feb. 13, 2017

Where did Stephen Miller come from, and how will his views on immigration influence the presidency? Also, farmers torn between support for President Trump and fear that he might deport their employees. Guests: Glenn Thrush, White House correspondent for The New York Times; Caitlin Dickerson, a reporter for The Times; and Jeff Marchini, a radicchio farmer in California. For more information on today’s episode, visit http://nyti.ms/2kiWbsF. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

13 Feb 201720min

Friday, Feb. 10, 2017

Friday, Feb. 10, 2017

Is President Trump’s travel ban headed to the Supreme Court? Did the boy in the photograph make it to America? Plus: your stories about living through history. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

10 Feb 201720min

Thursday, Feb. 9. 2017

Thursday, Feb. 9. 2017

Is Senator Warren actually a danger to the Democratic party? And what does Trump’s election mean for the markets? We discuss. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

9 Feb 201718min

Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2017

Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2017

The travel ban litigation, live-streamed. And why the 60-year-old words of the novelist James Baldwin captured in the film “I Am Not Your Negro” are so resonant right now. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

8 Feb 201720min

Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017

Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017

Why the nomination of Betsy DeVos for secretary of education is President Trump’s most controversial appointment in an already controversial cabinet. Plus: the meaning of four hardback chairs in the Oval Office. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

7 Feb 201719min

Monday, Feb. 6, 2017

Monday, Feb. 6, 2017

What single figure connects the 2008 financial crisis, the creation of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act, the Tea Party movement, Donald J. Trump’s election and, now, the potential dismantling of the biggest safeguard against America’s economic ruin? His name is Gary D. Cohn. Also, a Times investigation goes inside the world of the Islamic State and finds that terrorists no longer have to cross borders to carry out their attacks. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

6 Feb 201719min

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