[Rhodes22-list] We’re Still Here!

[ROGER PIHLAJA]

 Hi All,

We’re still sheltering in place at our house.  We have no electricity, cable TV, landline telephone, or cable internet.  Fortunately, the cell phone still works!  Our standby generator has been running continuously since Tuesday evening.

The water level in Sanford Lake has crested and is now falling slowly.  The radio says Sanford dam was breached.  But, it must still be standing or the water level would be down dramatically.  I suspect they mean the dam was overtopped and water was flowing thru the emergency spillway. Sanford dam upgraded their emergency spillway in 2013 to be able to handle a 500 year flood.  So far, the upgrade seems to be working.   Inadequate emergency spillway capacity was the primary  issue that caused FERC to cancel the Wixom dam’s operating permit in 2018.  Wixom dam has two concrete structures that house the flood gates and hydroelectric generators.  But, these concrete structures are linked by ~1/2 mile of earthen berm that was really the majority of the dam.  From the on-line pictures I’ve seen, it appears it was this earthen berm that failed.

Deb and I drove around the area yesterday morning.  We verified our escape route.  We found there was a gas station and grocery store open in Beaverton.  So, we filled up the minivan and bought some groceries.

The Curtis Road bridge at the north end of Sanford Lake has been destroyed!  Actually, the steel center span is still standing.  But, ~100 yards of the western approach to the bridge has been washed away.  So, you can’t get anywhere near the center span.  Many houses in the area near the bridge are gone, nothing left but their foundations.  You can also see the severed water main, power cables, fiber optic cables for cable TV and internet hanging from the bridge structure.  I think it’s going to a long time before all the utilities are restored to the west side of the lake.  Fortunately, we get our water from a well.  As long as our natural gas fired generator keeps running, we’re in good shape.  The natural gas pipeline doesn’t cross the Curtis Road bridge.  The pipeline runs up the west side of the lake from the south.  We are near the northern end of the pipeline.   ie, A little north of our house, you start seeing LP gas pigs in people’s yards.  During the flood, we saw many of these LP gas pigs floating down the lake!

We tried several different routes to get to Johnson Mini Storage on M-30.  But, we were stopped every time by flooded roads or closed bridges.  The storage facility is located very close to the Wixom dam and I’m worried the flood waters destroyed it.  We had a lot of stuff, including our RIB, the outboard, trailer, 3 kayaks, a canoe, all my dive gear, and a bunch of camping, kayaking, and boating gear stored there.  I studied the county map last night and I’m going to try another route today.  I’d like to know if the storage facility is damaged or is even there anymore before I contact my insurance agent.

Otherwise, things is dull!

Roger Pihlaja
   S/V Dynamic Equilibrium