TETON DAM

DESCRIPTION
The Teton Dam was an earthen dam on the Teton
River in Idaho, United States.
It was built by the Bureau of Reclamation, one of
eight federal agencies authorized to construct dams.
Owner: United States Bureau of Reclamation
Construction cost: 48.82 million USD
Construction began: 1972
Construction completed :1975
 Hight of dam was 94 m.
Width of dam was 0.6 miles long.
It creates a reservoir 17 miles in length.
The impounded water would be used to
generate hydroelectric power.
Dam collapse on 5 June 1976.
 Background for Construction
There had been interest in building a dam in the
eastern Snake River Plain for many years to
control spring runoff and provide a more constant
water supply in the summer.
The area had suffered a severe drought in 1961,
followed by serious flooding in 1962.
The Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) proposed the
Teton Dam in 1963, and Congress passed without
opposition an authorizing bill the following year.
 Geological Behavior of Soil
The area is seismically active as five earthquakes
had occurred within 30 miles (50 km) of the dam
site in the previous five years
The eastern Snake River Plain is almost entirely
underlain by basalt erupted from large shield
volcanos.
The dam site is composed of basalt and rhyolite,
both of which are considered unsuitable for dam
construction because of their high permeability.
Testing the soil gives the result that it has large
fissures in the rocks.
The Bureau planned to seal these fissures by
injecting grout into the rock under high pressure to
create a grout curtain in the rock.
 Causes for collapse
The filling of reservoir began at the standard rate
of 1 foot (0.30 m) a day. the project's construction
engineer requested permission to double the filling
rate, while continuing to inspect for leaks and
monitor the groundwater.
A month later, even though monitoring showed
that groundwater was flowing a thousand times
faster than had been originally anticipated, the
filling rate was doubled again, to 4 feet (1.2 m) a
day.
At the time, the reservoir was almost at
capacity, with a maximum depth of 240 feet
(73 m).
The only structure that had been initially
prepared for releasing water was the
emergency outlet works, which could carry just
850 cubic feet .
The main outlet works and spillway gates were
not yet in service.
On June 3 and 4 1976, three
small springs were discovered downstream
of the dam and such leaks are not
unexpected for an earthen dam.
 Evacuation
Project officials alerted the Madison and Fremont
County Sheriff's offices at 10:43 a.m. to prepare
for flooding and evacuation of the downstream
area. Between 11:00 and 11:30 a.m. the Project
office called the Sheriffs and told them to
evacuate.
Residents finished evacuating the towns of Sugar
City, Teton, and Newdale at about 12:30 p.m.
 Investigation of dam collapse
Study of the dam's environment and
structure placed blame for the collapse on the
permeable loess soil used in the core and on
fissured (cracked) rhyolite in the abutments of the
dam that allowed water to seep around and through
the earth fill dam.
An investigating panel had quickly identified
piping as the most probable cause of the failure.
 Two mechanisms were possible. The first was
the flow of water under highly erodible and
unprotected fill, through joints in unsealed rock
beneath the grout cap, and development of an
erosion tunnel.
The second was "cracking caused by differential
strains or hydraulic fracturing of the core
material."
The panel was unable to determine whether one or
the other mechanism occurred, or a combination.
The fundamental cause of failure may be regarded
as a combination of geological factors and design
decisions that, taken together, permitted the failure
to develop.
 Effects of dam collapse
A geomorphology and river hydraulics study
was completed by Reclamation during 1997-
2000.
When Teton Dam failed, the reservoir was
270 feet deep (at the dam) and drained in less
than six hours.
The filling and the subsequent rapid draining
of the reservoir triggered more than 200
landslides in the river canyon.
 Benefits of dam collapse
The failure of Teton Dam was a catalyst for
Reclamations Dam Safety program. The goal of
the Dam Safety program is long-term stability of
dams to protect lives and property, and ensure the
physical integrity of Reclamation dams.
The program is recognized worldwide as the
standard for Dam Safety and Risk Management.
Each structure is periodically reviewed for stability
under seismic and hydrologic loading, indications
of internal erosion and physical deterioration.
The dam safety program identified two other
dangerous dams Fontenelle dam, which very
nearly failed like the Teton Dam when it was filled
and again in May 1985 and the Jackson Lake Dam.
 Damage
The collapse of the dam resulted in the deaths of 11
people and 13,000 cattle.
The dam cost about $100 million to build, and the
federal government paid over $300 million in claims
related to its failure.
Total damage estimates have ranged up to $2
billion. The dam has not been rebuilt
 When the dam failed, the flood struck several
communities immediately downstream,
particularly Wilford, Sugar City, Salem, Hibbard,
and Rexburg
Thousands of homes and businesses were
destroyed. The small agricultural communities of
Wilford and Sugar City were wiped from the river
bank.
 The debris deposited in irrigation canals by the
flood included trees, dead livestock, cars, and even
house trailers. The National Guard used helicopters
to remove dead livestock from the canals.
The flood damaged highway 191 to Yellowstone
National Park, and highway 33 to Yellowstone and
Grand Teton National Parks.
The water also destroyed two Union Pacific
Railroad lines; St. Anthony to Newdale for eight to
nine miles, and St. Anthony to Rexburg, for thirteen
to fourteen miles.