Most of the journalists who do the press conferences from major publications are assigned the conference with little to no prior knowledge on the subject or they only deal with it when there is a conference and forgot most of the details. They do not research it daily or weekly and for some they never have until being assigned the conference. That's expecting someone who gets an assignment first thing in the morning and becoming an expert that's able to ask all the right questions without any confusion during the conference right after lunch. Juan started researching when the emergency started or soon after and has been covering it ever since on a quite regular basis, that's a huge difference from not knowing anything about it a few days prior or even the same day as a press conference that most of the journalists have. You have to consider most journalists cover a different story everyday and in a large variety of subjects, it is humanly impossible for them to be experts at each one and just as impossible to be able to do enough research to be an expert between getting the assignment and publication. Their ability to even get remotely in the ballpark of decent question shows it isn't idiocy, just a lack of time to research the subject enough to not sound like an idiot by asking idiot questions.
wow. as a Nevadan, i didn't know about any of this, until running across it by accident last night googling 'Oroville rainfall'. now, i am watching the whole series. this is amazing information you provide us. thank you!
tehbilbo79 OMG... you were missing the BEST SHOW on RUclips! I've been watching since the spillway failure and Juan provides the most intelligent, concise coverage out there.
yes, Las Vegas boonies, actually. but own land and will build at Almanor (LAW) in the next year or so, and looking to buy 5+ acre ranch / land to build in Yuba / Marysville. which is what has drawn me here oddly enough; potential for flooding.
clearly i am. Juan is real smart, asks great Q's and somehow manages to get himself in to the middle of the action. he puts a lot of time in to publishing and it's highly entertaining.
Juan, this series is Incredible! I Love the Technical Engineering Details You are covering. At the same time you're providing all of these Technical Details, you're doing it like I'm Your Friend and I'm the only one that's privy to this information! That's a Huge Part of What Makes This an Award Winning Series! Thank You Very Much for All of Your Hard Work & Passion!
Even tough I'm living on the other side of the world, I just love your video's Juan! Your way of reporting is very informative and technical, no hiprocrism nonsence. I would love to see this project in real life once, I don't think I can imagine the sheer scale. Greetings from Belgium!
My Dad was a Mechanical Engineer and he taught me about keeping concrete wet for at least 28 days as it cured. My childhood home had an elevated garage roof with rebar galore and a 16" I-beam supporting the middle. We used the top as a patio on the side of our house. One of my jobs when building the house was to keep that concrete wet for 28 days. I carried that knowledge with me until this spring when I poured concrete for my little 14' X 18' wood shop. And as my Father's true son, I not only kept that concrete wet for 28 days, I kept it wet over 60 days! My wood shop concrete floor is the finest in Eastern Washington. Another great update Juan!
One of the amazing things I noticed after watching this series several times is an overview of all the access roads netted around on both sides of the spillway. I hadn't really paid attention to them, but I just counted 22 entrances by road for heavy equipment to reach the edges of the spillway. That by itself, was a monumental job to build all those roads safely and keep them safe until the work is finished. Thanks again Juan, the massive scope is something we only get from you!😎
Outstanding. Reporters who ask questions are "present and accounted for". Reporters who are *conversant* LEAD the direction of the entire event! I guess we all know what Juan does.
Your coverage of Oroville deserve an award from RUclips! Thanks Juan! I've been keeping up with Oroville since the evacuation absolutely spectacular coverage. Keep up the good work! I especially love how dense the other journalist are, the "green patch" is just a microcosm of how clueless journalism has become.
I am so glad the actual people working on this immense project got into your video series. The organization and coordination is amazing, as is the improved technology available today.
Juan, the information you are reporting is thick, rich, and VERY interesting. Thank you for going the extra mile to clarify this large and complex operation. You just get better and better. Thanks again from a 75 year old geezer in Florida.
Juan, a big thank you from all of us "closet engineering junkies"! It is so seldom that we get a chance to see the inner workings of these gigantic projects. Been to Hoover Dam and the Panama Canal, but those are "done deals" and you are left to wonder at how they did it. You are peeling the mystery back for all of! Thanks again!
Once again Juan Browne rocks Oroville Dam reporting! The access you had with all these busy people, and their trust of you is wonderful... the way it should be for all reporters, sigh, but too many have agendas to make news rather than just reporting it. We can see you're learning on the job as well. Engineering, dam construction and the many disciplines involved would be new to anyone outside construction but you're doing a terrific job with your keen interest and unbiased reporting. Kudos to you Juan! I look forward to Part III. Thanks again!
Excellent, informative, lesson. Thank you so much!!! Those of us with construction experience completely understand the magnitude of this project. This truly is one of those "historic" accomplishments. Despite all the conspiracy types, all involved should be heavily applauded.
Video views from a distance with large trucks moving along the roads looking like ants on sidewalk, then when you get to see the scale of things up close like the plunge pools, and erosion "canyons" it starts sinking in how huge, and complex, this whole project is and appreciation grows for all their hard work trying to race against the rainy season filling the reservoir quickly. I recommend visiting a large dam near you, take their tours if available. The magnitude of large dam projects is staggering. Best thing so far... no lost days due to injury! I worked for a construction company and that is something many take very seriously. Excellent reporting again Juan.
Juan, this is informative, truthful and factual reporting. I thank DWR, Kiewit Construction and ALL of the engineers and designers for their work, allowing you to "showcase it" to America and the World....AND many thanks to you. Well Done! ....13
Juan, I have been with you from the beginning on this Oroville project. Being a pilot myself I was following one of your international flights and happened to come upon your coverage of the potential major impoundment failure. You have come out on top of all the press coverage with your access to information others have not pulled together. Combine your great access and dogged following of the goings on with your aerial information, this has definitely become my number one RUclips channel. Continue to look forward to your next video production! Nick, North West Farmer.
Terrific again Juan, it is truly hard to believe that your channel is a one man show. Thanks for putting so much into it, the camera work, editing, the questions, all of it puts the msm to shame. We are so lucky to have you. And thanks to DWR and Kewit for the cooperation and time they put in for your reports, it is all great.
Once again, another fantastic update on Oroville, Juan! This is the greatest ever construction project I've ever witnessed; and it's almost like the term 'construction project' doesn't cover it, because it's so huge! Thank you for making it all understandable! Best to you, Jeni, and the family!
This on the ground in person reporting and question and answer series with the people in charge of the dam and it's repair is amazing. The scale of the project really becomes apparent. I do not live in California and would not be able to follow this project if not for this channel. Thanks for a great job reporting the news. After the immediate threat of loss of life and the major evacuation the national news media stopped reporting on the condition and repair of the dam.
Just gotta say hats off to this state agency for opening the site to journalists. It's not easy and a drain on the key planners to walk laymen through the operation. But wow great to see how a project of this magnitude is coming together. Just seeing the size of this one batch plant, knowing how quickly it was assembled AND that it's running on generator power is a mind blowing scene. One of many in this place and a testament to the power of humanity. Too bad we don't put a tenth of this resolve into maintaining our current aging structures!
Great reporting on your part. You were with great engineers on this tour. From my experience you were given very good information and you don't need to be scared to share it. Thank you for sharing time getting this information out to us that are very interested in the complete picture. I lived through a Hurricane here in Virginia and was one of member of one of the teams that had to access the damage of the storm and make quick fixes to get traffic moving again. That was some long days.
Mr. Brown, it just gets better and better. I especially like when you invited us to put on our hardhats and earplugs because "it's going to get loud." Long ago, when I was nineteen, I drove a front-end loader and operated a "friction-style" crane (non-hydrolic) to move aggregate for a concrete plant. I would like to get details on the construction equipment. What kind of crane? How much is it capable of lifting? What kind of dump truck carries the roller-compacted concrete? How much do they carry at a time? Lot's of questions. Educational. Entertaining. Keep up the good work!
Ahh, finally the right answer for the dump trucks!! (noting that this question has been asked and answered wrongly several times)... And just because the question is in terms of RCC: Figure when compacted RCC has about the same density as regular ol concrete, i.e. about 2 tons per yard (within a couple percent typically). But uncompacted it's about 25% larger by volume (as Juan has said about a hundred times 15 inches spread gets compacted down to 12). So 40 tons of RCC is about 25 yards in the truck which compacts down to 20 yards on the ground. Which is two truckloads per batch if they are mixing 50-yard batches (per panda44r), and two 770G's seems to be what they use when moving RCC. Also, they do have some CAT 772G dump-trucks (20% bigger in both payload and capacity) on site, but they are not using them to haul RCC...
I have been unable to get close enough to the batch plant to be sure but I believe it is a CON-E-CO LO-PRO 12RS, which is a 12 yd. dry batch plant which is then fed into a horizontal mixer, maybe a Vince Hagan which has about a 1 min. mix and discharge time. This is about right as the trucks spend about 4 min in the plant. With the larger area to spread the RCC they have three trucks running today.
Wow Juan I live over 2K miles from this but if I lived below this damn your channel would make me feel a lot calmer. Great stuff. I doubt any other person could get this much cooperation & answers than you.
I live in the evacuation zone, and yes, this channel and Mr. Browne's excellent reporting has made me feel very comfortable living downstream. Personally, I was never all that worried about the dam failing because my grandfather was on the Oroville Dam construction crew and I had a great education in the construction all throughout my childhood. When the evacuation order came I sheltered in place because I didn't feel threatened. It helps that I'm in the three hour zone, meaning that if the worst happened and the dam had failed I would have three hours to get to high ground, which is very easy to do from where I live.
Except as Juan's video shows from February pictures, the emergency spillway was very close, too close, to being undercut and having an actual dam failure. Potentially the water in breaking through the weak points would proceed to erode away significant emergency spillway area and from there the cutting action of rushing water would carve canyon(s) who knows how deep and likely well below the main spillway gates. It does look like DWR and Kiewitt are doing a massive amount of work very quickly that hopefully lasts until final work can be completed next year.
Jaun, you are doing a great job sending quality video updates of the Oroville dam project. Thank you for your dedication and continued updates. Your updates are the most information any news media is providing or not providing by the big dogs. I look forward to your aerial mapping and showing the various parts of the lake and where the rain water comes from. I look forward to seeing your updates. Thanks and keep up the good work.
Chris Wikeen --- Juan is "The Big Dog", all of the other RUclips channels and the 'main stream media' are just "pups....they're not willing nor have the abilities/knowledge to get out to the project and 'dig for the facts'.!
Seeing this up close gives one a true perspective of the "enormity" of the project! So many engineering aspects to consider all at once in such a short time under short completion time schedule. My hats off to these company(s) coming together and the work they are doing. Something they and we can all be proud of!! Thank you!!
An astonishing engineering feat and you're doing, as you have been, an outstanding job of explaining it in a clear and concise manner. You consistently keep asking the questions I would have asked if I'd been there. Thanks, Juan! :)
Admittedly I only watch probably three out of five videos but this is the first time I heard Juan say that it was really a close call. Oh, and Im very impressed with the access Juan is given to the site and knowledgeable personnel, it goes a long way to telling of Juan's credibility and all-round personable nature.
Awesome. It's staggering how much work is left to be done and, frankly, how much has already been completed. One of the things that still strikes me as pure genius is reusing all of the dredged material for the RCC material.
Thank you Juan. You are a wealth of information, and an incredible discoverer of new information on this project. People are interested in the minutia of the details of such a massive project and you are the only place that gives us the information! A job well done!
Juan, another "tour de force" video on the Oroville spillway rebuild. Your questions elicit answers That everyone wants to know. That gentleman named Tom who gave a lot of information about The concrete manufacture & testing probably knows more about concrete work than anyone else on This planet. Thank him for us, that was great.
Juan, the Australian ABC does some amazing docos and has some incredible investigative journalists. That is their day job. You are right up there with them with your part time 'hobby'. Again, congratulations on your amazing coverage.
Juan, you are doing an incredible job! I can only imagine how many hours you have put into this series. your channel is the only one I watch to get info. Thanks again!!
Thanks Juan! Excellent reporting! The real risk of the emergency spillway exposed and explained instead of just the drama and spectacle of the big Canyon. I think these guys know a little bit about what they are doing, don't you?!
CAT Power! The amount of equipment that had to be all trucked in and set up ready to work is amazing. This scale of this project is immense! The fly overs make it look small....but at ground level the size becomes reality. Very skilled and dedicated workforce.
I'm glad you're getting the respect you deserve for your reporting - and the access to top people on the project to boot. The beginning was ominous, but the main spillway damage was far enough away from the dam to allow them to lower the lake and save the dam above the emergency spillway. Seeing your reporting initially set the hook as I was interested in learning how a huge project like the dredging and then engineering and executing a sufficient repair before the 2017 rainy season. Fast forward to Houston after experiencing an unprecedented 40 - 50" of rain over a wide area, expanding the main spillway capacity to 250,000 CFS now seems prudent. I'd hate to be downstream if that kind of release was required though!
Juan: thanks for the video and through your excellent work we now know how close the dam was to a possible failure at the emergency spillway; which explains the urgency of the evacuation, and the sacrifice of the main spillway. The folks living near the dam can now see the mitigation work and hopefully they will feel safer knowing DWR is setting things right.
Thank you Juan. You are the best. I know now what's going on because you bring it All...the entire story. You are so good at it too. Very professional and personable at the same time! Good job! Thx
Incredible coverage of the Oroville situation, Juan. Thanks so much for the hard work and dedication that you're displaying through this entire ordeal! You are by far the best technical reporter I've ever had the pleasure of experiencing!
Totally incredible video and the information on this..and the way you explained different thing's too..I do greatly appreciate it too..Thank you so so much
Another great job. We, the viewers, all appreciate the time an effort you are putting into this. A great big thank you for your hard work and dedication to providing the public with this interesting and critical information.
Thankyou Juan for a great tour, clear explanations and clear video work. I am interested in the Oroville project because in an earlier life when I was 21 or so I worked at Humes Ltd Steel Division in Melbourne Australia. Humes Ltd Steel Division were major contractors on the Snowy Mountains Hydro Electric Project, where I did a little bit I am proud to say. Keep up the good work American Cousins.
Juan, This is such a great update on the work being done at Oroville. I never imagined I'd be be following this from the other side of the globe after so many months but you do such a great job of producing it with so much interesting information I just cannot help catching up on your updates.
Watching with great interest from the beginning - a little obsessed lol - from Norfolk UK. Great viewing of an amazing engineering project and love the family videos too. All good :-)
I think the cable news chanells should interview you about dam stuff. You have the best, most accurate info about Orroville dam and other stuff too. I'm so glad I discoverred your channell last spring, after 3 weeks of wading through crap it was very refreshing to listen to you. Plus you are a great guy, good father and no doubt spouse. You don't know it yet, but we are having a bromance. Keep up the good work bro!
Just WOW ! So IMPRESSIVE. Makes me really glad that I found your channel with the Oroville disaster when I did. I enjoy seeing human beings taming the elements - love the solutions to problems. Makes me sad to think that the situation was allowed to deteriorate to the extent it was, but the new technology will be so much more stable. Watching the Huston area problems and just hoping they can get out the other side to employ some of the experience they have learned at Oroville.
Very interesting. Juan, you zeroed in on the same thing I did. I still have the TV video of the flooded parking lot and water seeping through the face of the hill northwest of the emergency spillway. The only answer you got was that it was an "opinion" that this seeping didn't present a problem. This was never supposed to happen. Neither was there ever supposed to be water rising to the elevation of the emergency spillway. I came away thinking at the time that 1) The emergency spillway was too small and allowed water to enter into the parking lot. 2) The water seeping through the hillside "was indeed" a problem and a potential point of failure. In any case, they are correcting all of my concerns about the emergency spillway. I posted by another name in those days. It was PlumbingDesigner. Thanks again for all your work.
Thanks Juan for the updates on the Oroville situation and it's progress. I have followed with great interest your updates and of course your other adventures on the bikes and other things. You no nonsense way of presenting is a credit to you and you tech is always improving. Very professional. Some day I would like to meet you but distance is a problem being from New Zealand. In the meantime keep up the great work and stay safe. Cheers.
Thanks for having knowledge about real life construction. Thanks for commenting on the conditions the people working on the project deal with. It's a hard life we live. But enjoy creating something from nothing!
The 7 negatives are from the management of the losing contract bid .. haha. Still following with great interest since day one, from Melbourne, Australia. Fantastic coverage Juan. Would have loved to have had this level of detail during the construction of the Snowy Mountains Hydro scheme back in the early 1950's here in OZ. Looking forward to part III and more :)
I noticed the "Kiewit" on the concrete plant, the company a friend of mine told me about that her dad used to work for. She knew about the Oroville Dam situation because the local news where she is, and where Kiewit is from, in Nebraska were talking about it. I would still be interested to know how many of the 600 people employed to work on the dam are from local sources and how many are from elsewhere. Because of all the information you have given us on the Oroville Dam situation, and how you have presented it so even a dummy like me could understand it, while watching Dallas - Fort Worth FOX News yesterday on their current flood situation, talking about lake levels, inflow / outflow, levees, etc. showing graphs and such, I actually understood what they were talking about. And it appears their reporters understood what they were presenting, unlike our local "what about the green spot" media. Thanks for your continued work Juan.
Duck Landes we even have Kiewit here on Kauai. They use union labor from the local unions but their management is usually from the home office. I'm sure they put a lot of time into training their guys. I've worked with them at the Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai and the engineers are top notch. Btw Juan if you and the family ever get to Kauai please look me up. I'd love to give you a tour. Jon
Best update ,great overview of the whole process. To bad all this engineering tech wasn't around back when the dam was built but like everything else things improve over the years.
Great Part II video, can't wait for Part III. I love how you get technical with it but now to much that it loses some of us in the translation. Cheers Juan!
Juan, just so you know, the really important visitors get a hard hat that is personalised with their name on the front or back. Usually made with the tool room label maker 15 minutes before the VIP arrives. LOL!! I was working on a nuclear reactor when we got a visit from the Secretary of Energy, and former governor of Washington state, Dixie Lee Ray. That was the procedure we used when she showed up to check out the progress of the job. As far as I know, she is the only person who has ever been allowed to bring her personal pets- two little yapping dogs to a nuclear power reactor. We then had to clean up their "gifts" after the tour. Good times!!
Great explanation as to why the DWR were so concerned about the erosion caused by use of the emergency spillway and the subsequent evac order, good stuff there Juan. It's actually quite frightening to look at that picture which shows how close it came to undermining the structure, and the depth of that canyon too. Snowcone anyone? Don't mind if I do - it's unusually warm in the UK right now!!
I just noticed viewing the DWR 8/29/2017 video that the RCC in the 'upper divot' has been joined to the RCC in the 'lower divot'. That is a welcome milestone. There is still a massive amount of RCC left to place before November. It is starting to look as though they will make it.
WOW ! Juan gets personalized one on one time with the engineers ! and he is the only one who asks the questions we want answers to.
Exactly because he goes in with no claws out. I think they respect him.
Or perhaps the other reporters are idiots
Lol I tried to be a little kinder.
+Current Batches ... A degree in journalism is proven daily to have been a degree in idiocy for decades!
Most of the journalists who do the press conferences from major publications are assigned the conference with little to no prior knowledge on the subject or they only deal with it when there is a conference and forgot most of the details. They do not research it daily or weekly and for some they never have until being assigned the conference. That's expecting someone who gets an assignment first thing in the morning and becoming an expert that's able to ask all the right questions without any confusion during the conference right after lunch. Juan started researching when the emergency started or soon after and has been covering it ever since on a quite regular basis, that's a huge difference from not knowing anything about it a few days prior or even the same day as a press conference that most of the journalists have.
You have to consider most journalists cover a different story everyday and in a large variety of subjects, it is humanly impossible for them to be experts at each one and just as impossible to be able to do enough research to be an expert between getting the assignment and publication. Their ability to even get remotely in the ballpark of decent question shows it isn't idiocy, just a lack of time to research the subject enough to not sound like an idiot by asking idiot questions.
wow. as a Nevadan, i didn't know about any of this, until running across it by accident last night googling 'Oroville rainfall'. now, i am watching the whole series. this is amazing information you provide us. thank you!
tehbilbo79 OMG... you were missing the BEST SHOW on RUclips! I've been watching since the spillway failure and Juan provides the most intelligent, concise coverage out there.
Juan Browne is the best investigative pilot journalist teacher on the planet!
yep. that's what this looks like! just great investigative journalism. this is epic content for YT.
yes, Las Vegas boonies, actually. but own land and will build at Almanor (LAW) in the next year or so, and looking to buy 5+ acre ranch / land to build in Yuba / Marysville. which is what has drawn me here oddly enough; potential for flooding.
clearly i am. Juan is real smart, asks great Q's and somehow manages to get himself in to the middle of the action. he puts a lot of time in to publishing and it's highly entertaining.
Could never get sense of scale without these first hand on the ground videos. Thanks Juan!
Mammoth project, Gibraltar like.
Juan, this series is Incredible! I Love the Technical Engineering Details You are covering. At the same time you're providing all of these Technical Details, you're doing it like I'm Your Friend and I'm the only one that's privy to this information! That's a Huge Part of What Makes This an Award Winning Series!
Thank You Very Much for All of Your Hard Work & Passion!
Even tough I'm living on the other side of the world, I just love your video's Juan!
Your way of reporting is very informative and technical, no hiprocrism nonsence.
I would love to see this project in real life once, I don't think I can imagine the sheer scale.
Greetings from Belgium!
Juan you are the Babe Ruth of RUclips reporters. This is another home run!
I am overwhelmingly impressed by the professionalism of these men. They truly are what is making America great. Thanks again Juan. You're terrific.
My Dad was a Mechanical Engineer and he taught me about keeping concrete wet for at least 28 days as it cured. My childhood home had an elevated garage roof with rebar galore and a 16" I-beam supporting the middle. We used the top as a patio on the side of our house. One of my jobs when building the house was to keep that concrete wet for 28 days.
I carried that knowledge with me until this spring when I poured concrete for my little 14' X 18' wood shop. And as my Father's true son, I not only kept that concrete wet for 28 days, I kept it wet over 60 days! My wood shop concrete floor is the finest in Eastern Washington.
Another great update Juan!
One of the amazing things I noticed after watching this series several times is an overview of all the access roads netted around on both sides of the spillway. I hadn't really paid attention to them, but I just counted 22 entrances by road for heavy equipment to reach the edges of the spillway. That by itself, was a monumental job to build all those roads safely and keep them safe until the work is finished. Thanks again Juan, the massive scope is something we only get from you!😎
Outstanding.
Reporters who ask questions are "present and accounted for".
Reporters who are *conversant* LEAD the direction of the entire event! I guess we all know what Juan does.
Your coverage of Oroville deserve an award from RUclips! Thanks Juan! I've been keeping up with Oroville since the evacuation absolutely spectacular coverage. Keep up the good work!
I especially love how dense the other journalist are, the "green patch" is just a microcosm of how clueless journalism has become.
I am so glad the actual people working on this immense project got into your video series. The organization and coordination is amazing, as is the improved technology available today.
Juan, the information you are reporting is thick, rich, and VERY interesting. Thank you for going the extra mile to clarify this large and complex operation. You just get better and better. Thanks again from a 75 year old geezer in Florida.
Juan, a big thank you from all of us "closet engineering junkies"! It is so seldom that we get a chance to see the inner workings of these gigantic projects. Been to Hoover Dam and the Panama Canal, but those are "done deals" and you are left to wonder at how they did it. You are peeling the mystery back for all of! Thanks again!
History in the making!
Once again Juan Browne rocks Oroville Dam reporting! The access you had with all these busy people, and their trust of you is wonderful... the way it should be for all reporters, sigh, but too many have agendas to make news rather than just reporting it. We can see you're learning on the job as well. Engineering, dam construction and the many disciplines involved would be new to anyone outside construction but you're doing a terrific job with your keen interest and unbiased reporting. Kudos to you Juan! I look forward to Part III. Thanks again!
Thanks Earl!
Excellent, informative, lesson. Thank you so much!!! Those of us with construction experience completely understand the magnitude of this project. This truly is one of those "historic" accomplishments. Despite all the conspiracy types, all involved should be heavily applauded.
Pappa Bob Yes! Thanks for saying that
Video views from a distance with large trucks moving along the roads looking like ants on sidewalk, then when you get to see the scale of things up close like the plunge pools, and erosion "canyons" it starts sinking in how huge, and complex, this whole project is and appreciation grows for all their hard work trying to race against the rainy season filling the reservoir quickly. I recommend visiting a large dam near you, take their tours if available. The magnitude of large dam projects is staggering. Best thing so far... no lost days due to injury! I worked for a construction company and that is something many take very seriously. Excellent reporting again Juan.
It amazes me how they managed to organize all this and make it happen while 8 months ago there was no idea this would happen.
Juan, this is informative, truthful and factual reporting. I thank DWR, Kiewit Construction and ALL of the engineers and designers for their work, allowing you to "showcase it" to America and the World....AND many thanks to you. Well Done!
....13
Juan, I have been with you from the beginning on this Oroville project. Being a pilot myself I was following one of your international flights and happened to come upon your coverage of the potential major impoundment failure. You have come out on top of all the press coverage with your access to information others have not pulled together. Combine your great access and dogged following of the goings on with your aerial information, this has definitely become my number one RUclips channel. Continue to look forward to your next video production! Nick, North West Farmer.
Thanks Nick!
Great Job Juan. Far surpassing the so called "professional reporters". Nice to see someone care about the real information.
Terrific again Juan, it is truly hard to believe that your channel is a one man show. Thanks for putting so much into it, the camera work, editing, the questions, all of it puts the msm to shame. We are so lucky to have you. And thanks to DWR and Kewit for the cooperation and time they put in for your reports, it is all great.
Once again, another fantastic update on Oroville, Juan! This is the greatest ever construction project I've ever witnessed; and it's almost like the term 'construction project' doesn't cover it, because it's so huge! Thank you for making it all understandable! Best to you, Jeni, and the family!
This on the ground in person reporting and question and answer series with the people in charge of the dam and it's repair is amazing. The scale of the project really becomes apparent. I do not live in California and would not be able to follow this project if not for this channel. Thanks for a great job reporting the news. After the immediate threat of loss of life and the major evacuation the national news media stopped reporting on the condition and repair of the dam.
Another top notch video by the best information guru out there. Thanks Juan!
Truely an incredible engineering marvel. Thanks Juan for continuing to provide excellent reporting.
Just gotta say hats off to this state agency for opening the site to journalists. It's not easy and a drain on the key planners to walk laymen through the operation. But wow great to see how a project of this magnitude is coming together. Just seeing the size of this one batch plant, knowing how quickly it was assembled AND that it's running on generator power is a mind blowing scene. One of many in this place and a testament to the power of humanity. Too bad we don't put a tenth of this resolve into maintaining our current aging structures!
Great reporting on your part. You were with great engineers on this tour. From my experience you were given very good information and you don't need to be scared to share it.
Thank you for sharing time getting this information out to us that are very interested in the complete picture.
I lived through a Hurricane here in Virginia and was one of member of one of the teams that had to access the damage of the storm and make quick fixes to get traffic moving again. That was some long days.
Mr. Brown, it just gets better and better. I especially like when you invited us to put on our hardhats and earplugs because "it's going to get loud." Long ago, when I was nineteen, I drove a front-end loader and operated a "friction-style" crane (non-hydrolic) to move aggregate for a concrete plant. I would like to get details on the construction equipment. What kind of crane? How much is it capable of lifting? What kind of dump truck carries the roller-compacted concrete? How much do they carry at a time? Lot's of questions. Educational. Entertaining. Keep up the good work!
The Dump Trucks they use for the RCC is the CAT 770G, nominal payload 42.1 tons, with up to 32.9 yd3 capacity.
At least one of the cranes, and likely most of the big crawler units, is a Liebherr LR 1300 which is a 300 ton crane with a maximum 320 ft. boom.
Ahh, finally the right answer for the dump trucks!! (noting that this question has been asked and answered wrongly several times)...
And just because the question is in terms of RCC: Figure when compacted RCC has about the same density as regular ol concrete, i.e. about 2 tons per yard (within a couple percent typically). But uncompacted it's about 25% larger by volume (as Juan has said about a hundred times 15 inches spread gets compacted down to 12).
So 40 tons of RCC is about 25 yards in the truck which compacts down to 20 yards on the ground. Which is two truckloads per batch if they are mixing 50-yard batches (per panda44r), and two 770G's seems to be what they use when moving RCC.
Also, they do have some CAT 772G dump-trucks (20% bigger in both payload and capacity) on site, but they are not using them to haul RCC...
I have been unable to get close enough to the batch plant to be sure but I believe it is a CON-E-CO LO-PRO 12RS, which is a 12 yd. dry batch plant which is then fed into a horizontal mixer, maybe a Vince Hagan which has about a 1 min. mix and discharge time. This is about right as the trucks spend about 4 min in the plant. With the larger area to spread the RCC they have three trucks running today.
Wow Juan I live over 2K miles from this but if I lived below this damn your channel would make me feel a lot calmer. Great stuff. I doubt any other person could get this much cooperation & answers than you.
I live in the evacuation zone, and yes, this channel and Mr. Browne's excellent reporting has made me feel very comfortable living downstream. Personally, I was never all that worried about the dam failing because my grandfather was on the Oroville Dam construction crew and I had a great education in the construction all throughout my childhood. When the evacuation order came I sheltered in place because I didn't feel threatened. It helps that I'm in the three hour zone, meaning that if the worst happened and the dam had failed I would have three hours to get to high ground, which is very easy to do from where I live.
Except as Juan's video shows from February pictures, the emergency spillway was very close, too close, to being undercut and having an actual dam failure. Potentially the water in breaking through the weak points would proceed to erode away significant emergency spillway area and from there the cutting action of rushing water would carve canyon(s) who knows how deep and likely well below the main spillway gates. It does look like DWR and Kiewitt are doing a massive amount of work very quickly that hopefully lasts until final work can be completed next year.
I absolutely love your coverage of the Oroville Dam spillway you're doing a damn good job at keeping us informed thank you so much
Jaun, you are doing a great job sending quality video updates of the Oroville dam project. Thank you for your dedication and continued updates. Your updates are the most information any news media is providing or not providing by the big dogs. I look forward to your aerial mapping and showing the various parts of the lake and where the rain water comes from. I look forward to seeing your updates. Thanks and keep up the good work.
Chris Wikeen --- Juan is "The Big Dog", all of the other RUclips channels and the 'main stream media' are just "pups....they're not willing nor have the abilities/knowledge to get out to the project and 'dig for the facts'.!
Seeing this up close gives one a true perspective of the "enormity" of the project! So many engineering aspects to consider all at once in such a short time under short completion time schedule. My hats off to these company(s) coming together and the work they are doing. Something they and we can all be proud of!! Thank you!!
An astonishing engineering feat and you're doing, as you have been, an outstanding job of explaining it in a clear and concise manner. You consistently keep asking the questions I would have asked if I'd been there. Thanks, Juan! :)
Admittedly I only watch probably three out of five videos but this is the first time I heard Juan say that it was really a close call. Oh, and Im very impressed with the access Juan is given to the site and knowledgeable personnel, it goes a long way to telling of Juan's credibility and all-round personable nature.
Awesome. It's staggering how much work is left to be done and, frankly, how much has already been completed. One of the things that still strikes me as pure genius is reusing all of the dredged material for the RCC material.
Thank you Juan. You are a wealth of information, and an incredible discoverer of new information on this project. People are interested in the minutia of the details of such a massive project and you are the only place that gives us the information! A job well done!
Juan, another "tour de force" video on the Oroville spillway rebuild. Your questions elicit answers
That everyone wants to know. That gentleman named Tom who gave a lot of information about
The concrete manufacture & testing probably knows more about concrete work than anyone else on
This planet. Thank him for us, that was great.
Yes!
Juan, the Australian ABC does some amazing docos and has some incredible investigative journalists. That is their day job. You are right up there with them with your part time 'hobby'. Again, congratulations on your amazing coverage.
Super boots on tour Juan..!! This is modern heavy duty engineered construction. These guys do NOT mess around..!!!
Juan, you are doing an incredible job! I can only imagine how many hours you have put into this series. your channel is the only one I watch to get info. Thanks again!!
Thanks Juan! Excellent reporting! The real risk of the emergency spillway exposed and explained instead of just the drama and spectacle of the big Canyon. I think these guys know a little bit about what they are doing, don't you?!
Absolutely fantastic blanco !!!!!!!!!! Im loving what your doing for us showing just how it is !!
CAT Power! The amount of equipment that had to be all trucked in and set up ready to work is amazing. This scale of this project is immense! The fly overs make it look small....but at ground level the size becomes reality. Very skilled and dedicated workforce.
I'm glad you're getting the respect you deserve for your reporting - and the access to top people on the project to boot. The beginning was ominous, but the main spillway damage was far enough away from the dam to allow them to lower the lake and save the dam above the emergency spillway. Seeing your reporting initially set the hook as I was interested in learning how a huge project like the dredging and then engineering and executing a sufficient repair before the 2017 rainy season. Fast forward to Houston after experiencing an unprecedented 40 - 50" of rain over a wide area, expanding the main spillway capacity to 250,000 CFS now seems prudent. I'd hate to be downstream if that kind of release was required though!
Juan:
thanks for the video and through your excellent work we now know how close the dam was to a possible failure at the emergency spillway; which explains the urgency of the evacuation, and the sacrifice of the main spillway. The folks living near the dam can now see the mitigation work and hopefully they will feel safer knowing DWR is setting things right.
Thank you Juan. You are the best. I know now what's going on because you bring it All...the entire story. You are so good at it too. Very professional and personable at the same time! Good job! Thx
Incredible coverage of the Oroville situation, Juan. Thanks so much for the hard work and dedication that you're displaying through this entire ordeal! You are by far the best technical reporter I've ever had the pleasure of experiencing!
Totally incredible video and the information on this..and the way you explained different thing's too..I do greatly appreciate it too..Thank you so so much
Another great job. We, the viewers, all appreciate the time an effort you are putting into this. A great big thank you for your hard work and dedication to providing the public with this interesting and critical information.
Thanks for posting all this great and accurate information for all of us who live up here. It's been hugely beneficial.
Thankyou Juan for a great tour, clear explanations and clear video work. I am interested in the Oroville project because in an earlier life when I was 21 or so I worked at Humes Ltd Steel Division in Melbourne Australia. Humes Ltd Steel Division were major contractors on the Snowy Mountains Hydro Electric Project, where I did a little bit I am proud to say. Keep up the good work American Cousins.
Juan, This is such a great update on the work being done at Oroville. I never imagined I'd be be following this from the other side of the globe after so many months but you do such a great job of producing it with so much interesting information I just cannot help catching up on your updates.
Thank you for sharing a very interesting tour construction site
Watching with great interest from the beginning - a little obsessed lol - from Norfolk UK. Great viewing of an amazing engineering project and love the family videos too. All good :-)
I think the cable news chanells should interview you about dam stuff. You have the best, most accurate info about Orroville dam and other stuff too. I'm so glad I discoverred your channell last spring, after 3 weeks of wading through crap it was very refreshing to listen to you. Plus you are a great guy, good father and no doubt spouse. You don't know it yet, but we are having a bromance. Keep up the good work bro!
Love this series so far!
Can't wait for part III, IV, V etc!!!
These videos are so good I never surf other stuff while watching them. Thanks!
Just WOW ! So IMPRESSIVE.
Makes me really glad that I found your channel with the Oroville disaster when I did. I enjoy seeing human beings taming the elements - love the solutions to problems. Makes me sad to think that the situation was allowed to deteriorate to the extent it was, but the new technology will be so much more stable.
Watching the Huston area problems and just hoping they can get out the other side to employ some of the experience they have learned at Oroville.
Thanks a lot Juan for the excellent and detailed coverage of this massive project ! Much appreciated.
Very interesting. Juan, you zeroed in on the same thing I did. I still have the TV video of the flooded parking lot and water seeping through the face of the hill northwest of the emergency spillway. The only answer you got was that it was an "opinion" that this seeping didn't present a problem.
This was never supposed to happen. Neither was there ever supposed to be water rising to the elevation of the emergency spillway. I came away thinking at the time that 1) The emergency spillway was too small and allowed water to enter into the parking lot. 2) The water seeping through the hillside "was indeed" a problem and a potential point of failure.
In any case, they are correcting all of my concerns about the emergency spillway. I posted by another name in those days. It was PlumbingDesigner. Thanks again for all your work.
excellent report !!!
as always
Thanks Juan for the updates on the Oroville situation and it's progress. I have followed with great interest your updates and of course your other adventures on the bikes and other things. You no nonsense way of presenting is a credit to you and you tech is always improving. Very professional.
Some day I would like to meet you but distance is a problem being from New Zealand. In the meantime keep up the great work and stay safe. Cheers.
JB you have the best coverage still!!!! The up close is so cool. Thank you keep up the great work
Thank you for these really great updates and reports...Blue skies to ya Juan...
Thanks for having knowledge about real life construction. Thanks for commenting on the conditions the people working on the project deal with. It's a hard life we live. But enjoy creating something from nothing!
Excellent reporting, Juan. I have been following you for months. This is a fascinating project.
I can't wait for part three! I am so well informed after watching this channel. Thanks Juan. Click the like button and hit the bell.
It's great to see the engineers coming across so well. Thanks.
Fantastic work going on, thanks for the work to bring us along!!!
Don't let this Orville project be your last reporting your too good at it. Can't wait for the next update, keepum coming.
Part III soon...
And yet another Great, Informative Video from Juan Brown!
I figured if we all send 20.00 to Juan he would be able to keep making us quality updates.Thanks Juan
Fascinating stuff! Great job Juan.
The 7 negatives are from the management of the losing contract bid .. haha.
Still following with great interest since day one, from Melbourne, Australia. Fantastic coverage Juan. Would have loved to have had this level of detail during the construction of the Snowy Mountains Hydro scheme back in the early 1950's here in OZ.
Looking forward to part III and more :)
Great job Juan you make the old media sources look like stumble bums
Great upload!! It is amazing to see the scale of this project. Very cool stuff!
I noticed the "Kiewit" on the concrete plant, the company a friend of mine told me about that her dad used to work for. She knew about the Oroville Dam situation because the local news where she is, and where Kiewit is from, in Nebraska were talking about it. I would still be interested to know how many of the 600 people employed to work on the dam are from local sources and how many are from elsewhere. Because of all the information you have given us on the Oroville Dam situation, and how you have presented it so even a dummy like me could understand it, while watching Dallas - Fort Worth FOX News yesterday on their current flood situation, talking about lake levels, inflow / outflow, levees, etc. showing graphs and such, I actually understood what they were talking about. And it appears their reporters understood what they were presenting, unlike our local "what about the green spot" media. Thanks for your continued work Juan.
Duck Landes we even have Kiewit here on Kauai. They use union labor from the local unions but their management is usually from the home office. I'm sure they put a lot of time into training their guys. I've worked with them at the Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai and the engineers are top notch. Btw Juan if you and the family ever get to Kauai please look me up. I'd love to give you a tour. Jon
more great info, thank you. i had no idea the cut-off wall was so massive. i was imagining piles the size ot telephone poles...3 feet thick...wow.
Best update ,great overview of the whole process. To bad all this engineering tech wasn't around back when the dam was built but like everything else things improve over the years.
Great videos, Juan, thanks.
I can't help but wonder what will become of the NEW!! IMPROVED!! spillway as time takes its inevitable toll.
Another good job "Blancolirio"..........thanks for the update, we'll stay tuned........
Great Part II video, can't wait for Part III. I love how you get technical with it but now to much that it loses some of us in the translation. Cheers Juan!
Does subscribing to this channel, make us all, Juannabes?
Bwahhh!..."Yes!"
I hope so.
The Commenting 🕵
Maybe someone will make a T-shirt for the blancolliro Juannabes ?
LoL
Another great presentation!!! Thanks Juan!
Great coverage.....Great explanation......Great job.......!!!!! Thanks!! Wish I was working on the project!!
Juan, just so you know, the really important visitors get a hard hat that is personalised with their name on the front or back. Usually made with the tool room label maker 15 minutes before the VIP arrives. LOL!! I was working on a nuclear reactor when we got a visit from the Secretary of Energy, and former governor of Washington state, Dixie Lee Ray. That was the procedure we used when she showed up to check out the progress of the job. As far as I know, she is the only person who has ever been allowed to bring her personal pets- two little yapping dogs to a nuclear power reactor. We then had to clean up their "gifts" after the tour. Good times!!
I'll create my own 'Blancolirio' decals out of masking tape to place on the helmet...lol
Thanks yet again Juan.
As always, thanks to you Juan. 👍🏼😊
Big project. Thanks for the tour.
Great explanation as to why the DWR were so concerned about the erosion caused by use of the emergency spillway and the subsequent evac order, good stuff there Juan. It's actually quite frightening to look at that picture which shows how close it came to undermining the structure, and the depth of that canyon too. Snowcone anyone? Don't mind if I do - it's unusually warm in the UK right now!!
Very well done good job asking the correct questions thank you
All I can say it thank u sir for your up dates
Hope you can turn all this great film footage into a Documentary so yr's from now people can see the magnitude of this project .
GREAT JOB !
Really good information. Thanks again, Juan and DWR.
Thanks again for the great coverage
Thank you Juan.
Pretty good one, again, Juan.
Outstanding Juan, thanks again for your efforts
Very detailed report! I love that truth!
I just noticed viewing the DWR 8/29/2017 video that the RCC in the 'upper divot' has been joined to the RCC in the 'lower divot'. That is a welcome milestone. There is still a massive amount of RCC left to place before November. It is starting to look as though they will make it.
Thanks once again for your informative channel.
Amazing as always... great reporting...