If the rain event had not stopped the three people cut off at our flood impacted farm house would have been inundated by metres of water.

We heard about the dam failure from other locals close to the dam wall who had heard the gates have failed – we now have full evidence to verify the dam gate failure.

What our situation highlights is that while most fatalities from failed dams and failed dam infrastructure have occurred in the countries of the south ie third world the west is not imune from dam infrastructure failure.

The capacity of first world dam operators to manage infrastructure/ risk and operational and human failure is not consistent.
We were very lucky the rain event that caused the flooding to back up over the failed dam gate, stopped.
It is however only a matter of time before a dam infrastructure failure in the first world causes fatalities.
We feel that maybe operational and human failures that have occured without fatality have been coverd up and are not generally reported or researched.
It is likely constructing authorities keep these instances quiet.
Please see the small news article that did report the event ( not comprehensively).

See the article:
Resident fears dam gates risk flooding
Posted Wed May 21, 2008 8:26am AEST
Updated Wed May 21, 2008 8:25am AEST
• Map: Hervey Bay 4655
A land-holder upstream of a major dam south-west of Hervey Bay says multi-million dollar barriers on the storage are broken, putting her family at risk of flooding.
Queensland Deputy Premier Paul Lucas will officially open the $16 million project at Lenthalls Dam, which is designed to more than double the storage’s capacity.
In what is claimed to be an Australian first, the two metre high crest gates sink when the dam reaches capacity to prevent flooding upstream and provide for environmental flows.
But Esther Allan says in February the gates jammed, causing water to back up onto her property.
“This is an extremely expensive piece of infrastructure. Ratepayers paid for this and their expectation would be that it would be operable,” she said.
“If it wasn’t, we need to know why – not only because our family’s safety was put at risk, but because ratepayers expect to get a result from the infrastructure they pay for.”
The local government corporation that runs Lenthalls Dam says the gates do not work, but it was monitoring the rising water.
Wide Bay Water general manager David Wiskar says adjustments were needed during the dam’s commissioning and are continuing.
“The gates were all needing some fine-tuning. At the moment we were able to complete that tuning on three of the gates,” he said.
“There’s two that remain to be done, but we’re waiting until the level in the dam falls to an adequate level to [do] those final two.”
The Lenthalls Dam Gates are still not fully operational today September 2008 and heading into the QLD summer flood season.

We can evidence what we are saying.
We dont have too much faith that any government authority will maintain our saftey, and our economy is currently healthy and well economically resourced.

Infrastructure once built needs to be operable ongoing through good economic times and bad.

Climate Change will continue to place increased pressure on infrastructure in Australia the frequency of extreme storm and weather events will be a counterpoint to extreme drought.

If the infrastructure cannot be managed safely now – those who live in areas affected by damming have much to worry about as climate change will increase the risks posed by failed infrastructure.

The risks remain for all of those who live on dammed river systems.

The casino has cards. Bowling, too, which is what we go for sometimes; or concerts once in a while.

Dano: Sounds like you don’t like guns. That’s fine; I just hope you never find yourself in a position of needing one. Remember: when seconds count, the police are just minutes away!

Also, self-defense aside, shooting is a fun, healthy outdoor sport (although, that may not be possible where you live). And hunting is a big part of the culture around here too, although I’m not much of a hunter myself. There’s no better way to put organicly-grown meat on your family’s table.

Best,

D

I do like Texas Hold ‘em. Don’t play golf, just admire Tiger Woods

We have celebrities too! Ted Danson and his wife Mary live in Sedona by the Circle-K store, for instance, and the sextuplets (world-famous, right?) go to my church. Bruce Springsteen occasionally rides into Jerome when he’s out and about for a brewski.

And I guarantee you won’t get carjacked or worry if your kid is out in the street playing b-ball after dark. I rarely even lock my doors. You might never leave when you see how the ‘normal’ people live …..

Ever been to Phoenix? Considering it’s the 6th largest metropolitan area in the US, it has a relatively low crime rate. And I believe the proliferation of firearms has something to do with that. I don’t think it’s just the heat that makes people mellow.

I live in AZ (not actually Phoenix), and we have lots of people in this state with concealed-carry permits, and you can still open-carry without a permit. I see people every day at the grocery store or the gas station with a sidearm in plain view. It seems to reduce the number of carjackings, home invasions, and such. It’s tough to force Granny out of her car if she’s packing a 9mm!

When you play Grand Theft Auto, do the people you carjack ever come out shooting?

As the immortal Marion Barry once said, “Outside of the killings, DC has one of the lowest crime rates in the country.” Um, okay ….

I just threw out that quip about guns, however, because of the Supreme Court’s recent decision to hear the case of the DC gun ban. I’d like to point out to the justice’s that the right to bear arms isn’t just about having a militia: The right to self-defense is rooted in the most basic right of all, the right to life.