There shouldn't be any problem from the dam overfilling if the turbines stop, Thompson said, because excess water simply runs over the spillway. Unless there's a computer chip in the dirt, says Doug Johnson, there's little to worry about. Johnson, supervisor of dam safety with the state Department of Ecology, said the dams they inspect in the area are primarily small, aging dams made of earth and rock, and controlled with things as simple as a hand crank. The department doesn't oversee hydroelectric projects, which have more complicated electronic systems. The dam at the outlet of Chaplain Lake, which provides water to Everett, doesn't face any computer problems, said Dan Lowell , the city's public works operations superintendent.
Gravity moves the water from the reservoir to a nearby treatment plant.
If computerized gauges of water levels failed, a worker could easily walk outside the building and check the reservoir level, he said. The Daily Herald Co., Everett, Wash.