[Rhodes22-list] Finally some good news!

Sat May 23 16:31:38 EDT 2020

Hi Mary Lou

When I first saw the drone video clip, I could hardly believe my eyes!  It seemed like a miracle nearly akin to God parting the Red Sea for Moses.  How could a location so close to a catastrophic dam failure come away unscathed?  When the internet came back last night, I was able to determine the approximate location of the Wixom Dam failure point.  When I overlaid that failure point on the topo map and colored in the appropriate contour elevation, it all became clear.  Although it seems miraculous, it’s really just topography and physics.  Nevertheless, if the dam had failed just a little further west; then, the outcome might have been very different.  For that, I’m willing to accept it as my own personal miracle.  It’s pretty awesome what God can do!

Roger Pihlaja
S/V Dynamic Equilibrium

Sent from Mail<https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=550986> for Windows 10

From: Mary Lou Troy<mailto:mtroy at atlanticbb.net>
Sent: Saturday, May 23, 2020 3:16 PM
To: The Rhodes 22 Email List<mailto:rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Finally some good news!

Such good news Roger. Glad your stuff in storage appears to be safe even
if you can't get to it but sorry about the lake and your neighbors who
took a heavier hit. And glad you have your utilities back.

The Powerpoint didn't come through - maybe the list can't handle that
kind of attachment. In any event it's always good to have friends with
drones and some skill flying them.

Thanks for the update. We've been thinking about you.

Continued best wishes for a recovery in your part of the world.

Mary Lou

On 5/23/2020 10:45 AM, ROGER PIHLAJA wrote:
> Hi All,
>
> The attached MS PowerPoint document is a high resolution topo map of the south end of Wixom Lake showing the location of Johnson Mini Storage, the failure point in the Wixom dam and the path of the floodwaters as far south as the Curtis Road bridge.  When the dam failed, the water level was ~10 feet higher than normal summer pool.  As you can see, the Tittabawassee River channel downstream of the dam is a relatively steep sided gorge (i.e. topo contour lines closely spaced).  The Johnson Mini Storage facility sits on top of an ~20 foot high mound relative to the surrounding area.  The flood waters flowed all around the storage facility; but, left it high and dry!  So, although my stuff is safe, the Johnson Mini Storage facility sits between two damaged bridges, the M-30 Causeway over Sanford Lake to the north and the M-30 Bridge over the Tittabawassee River in Edenville to the south.  Until one of these bridges is repaired, there is no way to get to Johnson Mini Storage.  It’s also clear why the floodwaters washed away the western approach to the Curtis Road Bridge.
>
> The other attachment is a link to some U-Tube drone footage shot by one of my neighbors.  He has a car in storage at Johnson Mini Storage, so he has some skin in the game.  This ~5 minute long video clip starts near the western end of the Wixom dam and flies east along the dam until it gets to M-30.  Note, that this is not the part of the dam that failed.  I will try to get some footage of that as well, so stay tuned!  As the drone flies over the flood gates on the Tobacco River side of the dam (i.e. West Arm of Wixom Lake), note that the flood gates are completely closed and there is no flow.  Can someone explain to me why a dam operator would close the flood gates during a flood?  This may have something to do with why the M-30 Causeway got blown out.  At M-30, the drone turns south and follows the road over to Johnson Mini Storage.  Note that all the trees are still standing, the perimeter fence is still there, none of the buildings appear damaged or even water stained, the stored boats are still parked in neat rows, and the white gravel parking lot is not covered in brown mud.  Clearly, this place didn’t even get wet!
>
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZRJ3MFIpnc&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR0x_nxlD_b8P9cEIEyTqnwONukqtcQUkmz2oiXISHtHmTpp_a0I_Fid4Sc
>
> My insurance agent is so overwhelmed with claims that next week Thursday was the soonest I could get an appointment.  So, stay tuned!
>
> Wixom Lake and Sanford Lake are now drained down to the original Tittabawassee River channel.  The “river” in front of my house is ~80 yards wide with a 2-3 mph current.  Paddle trips from my house just became like 1-way river trips with a put-in, a take-out, and a vehicle shuttle.
>
> We got back all our utilities last night!  Life is good!
>
> Roger Pihlaja
> S/V Dynamic Equilibrium
>
> Sent from Mail<https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=550986> for Windows 10
>
>
>

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