Dam Inspection

Yesterday Jon got his attendants out, then came home to watch Tae so that I could go do a dam inspection. We inspected Little Dell and Mountain Dell dams.

We zigzagged up the face of Little Dell (an earthen dam...a very steep earthen dam), checking the toe and surface on the way up. It was quite a workout. We checked the spillway, verified the water surface elevation, checked the instrument rooms, inspected the top, and zigzagged back down. We also inspected the pump station, including hiking into the dam and inspecting the pipe that runs into the reservoir. It was great, other than it had rained when we started. My shoes were soaked and I could feel water sloshing between my toes every time I took a step.

Mountain Dell was my favorite. I have driven past that structure countless times, but had never really paid attention to it. It is a beautiful structure. It was built in 1917. The original structure wasn't tall enough, so they added to it in 1924. It was interesting to see the difference between the concrete and form work on the original structure and the addition. It is holding up remarkably well. We went into all the bays, hiked up one side, walked across the top, and hiked down the other side.

Needless to say, my legs are feeling all that hiking today!