{"460041":{"#nid":"460041","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Engineering failures likely caused dam breaks in South Carolina during record flooding","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA team of scientists led by the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering\u2019s \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/ce.gatech.edu\/people\/Faculty\/551\/overview\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EHermann Fritz\u003C\/a\u003E has just returned from a four-day reconnaissance mission in South Carolina assessing damage after record-breaking rainfall flooded large swaths of the state.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs Hurricane Joaquin passed offshore and shoved unprecedented amounts of rain into the state, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/arcg.is\/1PiNMN7\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Erivers surged and dams failed\u003C\/a\u003E, releasing torrents of water downstream. Fritz\u2019s team is trying to find out just how high the water rose and why some of those dams gave way.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cFrom a sustainable and resilient infrastructure point of view, the cause of the numerous dam breaches needs to be investigated. The fieldwork allowed us to measure high water marks on the river banks both upstream and downstream of the dams to determine the hydraulic loading on the mostly earthen dams and analyze their performance,\u201d Fritz said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cUnfortunately, several dams failed prior to being overtopped pointing at geotechnical engineering design or maintenance failures.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFritz led several Georgia Tech graduate students, colleagues from Clemson University, and partners from Geosyntec Consultants and the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.ferc.gov\/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EFederal Energy Regulatory Commission\u003C\/a\u003E on the four-day survey this week, taking soil samples and assessing damage. The trip was organized by the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.geerassociation.org\/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EGeotechnical Extreme Events Reconnaissance (GEER) Association\u003C\/a\u003E with support from the National Science Foundation.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe samples collected by the graduate students head to labs at Georgia Tech and Clemson for analysis so the scientists can better understand the soil\u2019s characteristics.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFritz said some dams performed flawlessly, which will provide valuable lessons-learned. But the ones that failed resembled another notorious flooding event.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/arcg.is\/1PiNMN7\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003ESouth Carolina flooding\u003C\/a\u003E was characterized by local dam failures of mostly earthen dams, which was reminiscent to the aging infrastructure and poorly maintained levees in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina 10 years ago,\u201d said Fritz, who has done extensive work along the Gulf Coast where Katrina came ashore. \u201cIn both cases, earthen dams or levees were aging and poorly designed with soils of limited strength, resulting in breaches prior to reaching their design heights or being overtopped [by water]. Both events provide textbook examples of dam failures prior to floodwaters reaching the crest height and also due to overtopping.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt was amazing how the dam failures were concentrated in the greater Columbia area in contrast to the reserves downstream of Columbia, where freely meandering rivers flooded wide swaths of marshland, but provided few engineering failures,\u201d he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFritz said the team\u2019s data also will help forecasters refine their models, which he said are based on 75 years worth of data and tend to underestimate a disaster like this flooding.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe maximum rainfall five-day total reached two feet, exceeding even rainfall totals during the direct hit of Hurricane Hugo in 1989 on Charleston,\u201d Fritz said. \u201cThe NOAA precipitation statistics will have to be redefined after this event, and it raises serious questions about how meaningful they are going forward while facing climate change.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe research team will publish detailed observations and findings on the GEER website in the coming weeks. The team also included Ronald Andrus and graduate student Barnabas Bwambale, Clemson University; Jeremy Varner, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission; Robert Bachus, Thomas Bristol, Brandon Mogan, Melissa Setz, Glenn Rix, and Njoroge Wainaina from Geosyntec Consultants.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"CEE team returns from survey trip to Columbia area, where numerous dams gave way as historic rainfall pelted the state"}],"field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Georgia Tech researchers survey flood damage, find Katrina-like dam failures"}],"uid":"27446","created_gmt":"2015-10-16 15:39:54","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:19:47","author":"Joshua Stewart","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2015-10-16T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2015-10-16T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"459981":{"id":"459981","type":"image","title":"CEE SC Flooding 2015 - Old Mill Dam Breach","body":null,"created":"1449256361","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 19:12:41","changed":"1475895204","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:53:24","alt":"CEE SC Flooding 2015 - Old Mill Dam Breach","file":{"fid":"203575","name":"sc_flooding-old_mill_dam_hfritz_h.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/sc_flooding-old_mill_dam_hfritz_h_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/sc_flooding-old_mill_dam_hfritz_h_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":193796,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/sc_flooding-old_mill_dam_hfritz_h_0.jpg?itok=A_R3WCL5"}},"460001":{"id":"460001","type":"image","title":"CEE SC Flooding 2015 - Cary\u0027s Lake Sampling","body":null,"created":"1449256361","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 19:12:41","changed":"1475895204","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:53:24","alt":"CEE SC Flooding 2015 - Cary\u0027s Lake Sampling","file":{"fid":"203576","name":"sc_flooding-carys_lake_dam_auger_hfritz_h.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/sc_flooding-carys_lake_dam_auger_hfritz_h_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/sc_flooding-carys_lake_dam_auger_hfritz_h_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":214020,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/sc_flooding-carys_lake_dam_auger_hfritz_h_0.jpg?itok=vn3O1ePD"}},"460021":{"id":"460021","type":"image","title":"CEE SC Flooding 2015 - Columbia Canal Breach","body":null,"created":"1449256361","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 19:12:41","changed":"1475895204","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:53:24","alt":"CEE SC Flooding 2015 - Columbia Canal Breach","file":{"fid":"203577","name":"sc_flooding-columbia_canal_breach_hfritz_h.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/sc_flooding-columbia_canal_breach_hfritz_h_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/sc_flooding-columbia_canal_breach_hfritz_h_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":194206,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/sc_flooding-columbia_canal_breach_hfritz_h_0.jpg?itok=wz0u6n28"}},"460031":{"id":"460031","type":"image","title":"CEE SC Flooding 2015 - Cary\u0027s Lake Truck","body":null,"created":"1449256361","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 19:12:41","changed":"1475895204","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:53:24","alt":"CEE SC Flooding 2015 - Cary\u0027s Lake Truck","file":{"fid":"203578","name":"sc_flooding-gills_creek_truck_hfritz_h.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/sc_flooding-gills_creek_truck_hfritz_h_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/sc_flooding-gills_creek_truck_hfritz_h_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":199570,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/sc_flooding-gills_creek_truck_hfritz_h_0.jpg?itok=-891ffId"}}},"media_ids":["459981","460001","460021","460031"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/arcg.is\/1PiNMN7","title":"Flooding Before\/After - S.C. Emergency Management"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.geerassociation.org\/","title":"Geotechnical Extreme Events Reconnaissance Association"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.ferc.gov\/","title":"Federal Energy Regulatory Commission"},{"url":"http:\/\/ce.gatech.edu\/people\/Faculty\/551\/overview","title":"Hermann Fritz\u0027s Profile"}],"groups":[{"id":"1253","name":"School of Civil and Envrionmental Engineering"}],"categories":[{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"},{"id":"154","name":"Environment"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"144851","name":"alejandro martinez"},{"id":"144831","name":"dam"},{"id":"144861","name":"fikret atalay"},{"id":"2323","name":"flood"},{"id":"51591","name":"flooding"},{"id":"144871","name":"geotechnical engineering"},{"id":"144891","name":"Geotechnical Extreme Events Reconnaissance Association"},{"id":"4407","name":"Graduate Student"},{"id":"144881","name":"hermann fritz"},{"id":"144841","name":"hurricane joaquin"},{"id":"167864","name":"School of Civil and Environmental Engineering"},{"id":"167959","name":"south carolina"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWriter: \u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jstewart@gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJoshua Stewart\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESchool of Civil and Environmental Engineering\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E404.385.3171\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESource: \u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:fritz@gatech.edu\u0022\u003EHermann Fritz\u003C\/a\u003E, 404.385.1803\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["joshua.stewart@ce.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}