Teton Dam

The Collapse and Disaster. Names

TE 335

– Located in 3miles northwest of Newdale, Idaho

• Building began in Feb 1972 and was completed in Nov. 1975• 305-foot-high• Legnth of 3100 ft including spillway• Crest elevation of 5332ft• Total impoundment capacity 288250 acre-feet, active capacit of

200k acre feet (Karl Terzaghi) (Arthur Casagrande)• 11 lives lost• 100 Million dollar to build• 300 Million Dollars of claims

• Water began seeping from canyon wall about 750 feet down stream from the dam on Thursday.        

• By early Saturday, June 5th 1976, a new leak had appeared near the abutment.

• By 9:30 a.m. this leak had begun. Four bulldozers were sent in to try and plug the leak. It continued to grow.         At

• area residents were already calling and going door to door warning families who lived just below the dam to get out fast.    

•  Around 11:00 a.m. a whirlpool was spotted in the water above the dam. hole on the downstream side had grown to more than 25 feet in diameter.

• Bulldozers got stuck. and were swallowed by the hole. The operators were pulled free with ropes that had been tied around their waists. 

• By evening, the reservoir had drained completely.

• Cause of Failire

• -Dam fill inadequately campacted, too dry. (brittle)

• - Fracturd bedrock abundments (less support)

• -Excessive reliance on grout barrier

• -Piping: Erosion of tunnels by leaking water

• Possible Solutions:• Use less brittle material. More pressure

flexibility.• Secure abuntments.• Don’t rely on grout connections and barriers.• Better placement of pipes for less or no erosion. • Take to account the “pre-breakage” leaks that

might lead to dam eruption.• Better evacuation efforts.

• http://washington-state-magazine.wsu.edu/stories/2004/August/tetondam.html

• http://web.umr.edu/~rogersda/teton_dam/

• http://www.geol.ucsb.edu/faculty/sylvester/Teton%20Dam/welcome_dam.html

• http://www.eng.uab.edu/cee/faculty/ndelatte/case_studies_project/Teton%20Dam.htm

• http://www.rootsweb.com/~idfremon/flood.htm