Imperial Valley press., 1928-03-27
BASE OF
DAMS|TE
INSECURE
Foundation Rested Upon
Soft Rock Committees
Report States.
SUGGESTIONS MADE
Close Supervision of All
Dams in State Urged By
Experts.
BY United Press Leased Wire

BY United Press Leased Wire
SACRAMENTO, Cal, March 81
Defective foundations were assigns
ed today as the cause for the failure
: of the ST. Francis dam in the Office
ial report of the commission named
by Governor Young 20 investigate
! the disaster March IS.
The report made to Governor
Young by the commission declared:
''l-The failure of the dam was
caused by defective foundations, as
it was not built upon sound bedrock.
"2-NOthing was found to indi-
cate that the accepted theory of
gravity dam design is in error or
that there is any question about
the safety of concrete dams design
! cd in accordance with that theory
| when built upon even ordinarily
sound bedrock.
"3-All such dams which would
result in serious loss of life if they
! broke should be erected and MAIN
tanned under the strict supervision
! anu NbhlIOl VI AdlllOIHld Stdlc du~
| thorities.
"4-The state should maintain
strict police power over dams of
that nature where any considerable
quantity of water is stored.
Water Storage Necessary
"This terrible disaster emphasiz.
ed the fact that while the benefits
accruing to the builders of such pro-
jects are many, the failures bring
disaster to others who have no com
troll over the construction or MAIN
tenancc of the work. said the re.
port. ''The police power of the
state certainly ought 20 be extended
to cover all structures impounding
any large quantity Of water.
''Water storage with it's neces-
sary concomitant dam and embark-
ments is peculiarly essential to the
development of California resources
and in the great majority of eases
failures of such dams and embank-
ments would result in serious loss
of life and property"
The personnel of the commission
is as follows: I
A. ]. Wiley, chairman, consulting
engineer, Boise, Idaho; George d.
Louderback, professor of geology,
University of California, Berkeley;
S. L. Ransome, professor economic
geology, California Institute Of
Technology. Pasadena; S. E. Bon-
ner, district engineer. United States
| Forest Service, and California rep
resentativc on the Federal Power
| Commission, San Francisco; S. III.
Fowler, consulting engineer, San
Francisco, and Fl. P. Cory, consult-
| ing engineer, Los Angeles.
In making public the report, Gov.
ernor Young called attention to the
careful study that had been given
by the commission to all the facts
surrounding the failure of the st.
Francis dam.
The commission has been at work
for over eight days devoting long
! hours to a study of documentary
evidence to the design of the dam
and its foundations and to investi.
cation on the ground.
Served Without Pay
Assisting the commission were r.
B. Meek. director of the Depart.
ment of Public Works; Edward
Hyatt, state engineer together with
engineering forces of the Division
of highways, and the Division of
engineering and Irrigation.
The commission was furnished
with plans, photographs and other
data concerning the design, con.
struction and operation of the st.
Francis dam, by William MulhoI.
land, chief engineer and general
manager of the Bureau of Water
Works and Supply of Los Angeles.
Governor Young in his statement
also calls attention to the fact that
the commission, though made up
of some of America s most eminent
engineers and geologists, served
without compensation, which places
this report on a very high plane Of
! public service.
Concerning the causes for the
failure of the dam, the report says:
Photographic evidence and the
testimony of witnesses show that
| liltlt SFCpdEt piHopu tHiVHHh th~
structure of the main dam. Certain
cracks developed in the main struc-
ture which possibly discharged an
unimportant amount Of water, az Is
not nj all unusual in concrete dams.
"Much more important seepags
is reported 10 have taken place
through the foundation upon which
the dam rested" the report said.
FAMOUS LAST LINES; seYea. 7