The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1889-06-08
WHO WAS TO BLAME?
Engineering Authorities Say the
Dam Was Badly Constructed.
THE GREAT DISASTER AT SEATTLE
The Town Is Entirely Destroyed in the BuSi-
ness Part-The ''Thunderer" on the
JOhnstOWn Horror.

JoHNsTowN, June IA. n. Wellington and
+. P Burt, associate editor OF the Ej3giAeeriRq
Ne,rS, OF New York, have completed their exaTIi7
nation OF the dam which caused the great dis
aster wellington states that the dam was IN
every reepect of very inferior construction and
of a kind wholly unwarranted by good engineer
ing practices of thirty years ago. Both the orr
ginal and reconstructed dams were of earth
only, with no heart wall but only rip raped on
the slopes. The original dam, however was made
in rammed and watered layers, which still show
distinctly in wrecked places, while the new end
merely added to the stability, but it was to all
appearances merely dumped in like an ordinary
railroad fill: or if rammed II shows no evidence OF
any good effect from it. Much of the old dam Is
standing intact While the adjacent parts of the
new works are wholly carried on. There was
no central wall of puddle or masonry either IN
the old or new dam, as 1t mad been the
inVariable practice Of engineers thirty or
forty years TO use one or the other in building
high dams of earth. The reconstructed dam
also bears marks OF great carelessneSs. n having
been made two feet lower in the middle than at
the ends. It should rather have been raised in
the middle which would have concentrated the
overflow, if it should occur, ut the ends instead
of in the centre. Had the break begun at the
ends, the cut of water would have been so
gradual that little or no harm might have re
suited Had the dam been at once cut at the
ends when the water began running over
the centre the sudden breaking of the dam
and would have been at best greatly diminished,
possibly prolonged so that little harm might
have resulted The crest OF the old dam had
not been raised in the reconstruction of 1881
The old overflow channel through the rock Still
remains at the end, but owing to the sag of the
crest in the middle OF the dam, there were only
Ja feet of water in it instead of feet, which was
necessary to run the water over the crest The
rock Splllway is narrow 1t best, and had been
further contracted by close grating TO prevent
the escape of fish. II was capped by good sized
timbers and in some slight degree alsoiby tres
| tie foot bridge.
The original discharge pipes at the foot of the
dam had been permanently closed when recon
structed; and this while minor matter COM
pared to the others mentioned, further reduced
| the possible rate of maximum discharge. The
net effect of all these differences of condition
was that the dam, as il stood, was not much
safer against successive floods from its Inferior
construction than tne origlna! dam would nave
| been with j crest, only three and half TO four
| feet high above the bottom OF the rock The
spill way was only five and half instead OF
seven feet.
A large amount of the old rip-rapping and
slope walled still remains intact and Is OF excel
| lent quality. 1t does not appear that there was
any great amount of leakage through the dam
! before it broke. The destruction came from the
water flowing over the top.
| Wellington said that no engineer Of known and
good standing for such work could possibly nave
been engaged on il since IL the particulars neI!-
| toned it violated The most elementary and uni
VerSally understood regiments OF good pr1ctlce.
| Estimates of the original dam indicate that
| it was made OF about ndH earth and Aal rock
but if SO. there was little evidence OF ii in the
! broken dam. The -ip-rapping was merely j
skin on each face, With more o. less loose spaus
mixed with the earth
The dam was - feet above TIE water; to
inside slope and % feet vice On the top The r0ck
throughout was about one foot below the sur
face. The earth was pretty good ma erial toi
such o dam, if it t. be built Of II all, being
| clay. itSnatuce making it a good puddle. To the
fact its standing intact since 1881, must bt
aScribed. Is no engineer OF stand
ing would nave even tried to so cOnStrUCtlt The
| fact that the dam Ny2s reconstructed one after
twenty years Of abandonment made It especially
| hard on the older part OF the dam 10 withstand
| the pressure OF the water.