Dams

Geek Out

How Do You Demolish This Hated Dam? Snip It Down The Middle

11:00AM September 20, 2011 | Sam Biddle

California’s Matilija Dam is a huge mistake. Over 60 years after its construction, engineers and ecologists are realising it does more harm than good — a feeling shared by the rogue artists who painted huge, easy instructions as a fix. More »


Geek Out

This Is What Keeps The Netherlands Dry

11:40AM May 20, 2011 | Andrew Tarantola

The Netherlands used to flood a lot. Rather than just grow gills and be done with the matter, the Dutch blew a bunch of cash on a massive set of levees, then added this monumental storm surge protector up front. More »


Software

Want To Know How Empty The Dams Are? There’s An App For That

Flag
1:00PM November 19, 2010 | Nick Broughall

The past 15 years or so have been pretty tough on the country’s water supply – constant drought and a booming population has meant that dam capacity has struggled to move upwards. If you want to know just how tough it’s been on our water supply, the Bureau of Meteorology has just released a free iPhone app to track Aussie dam levels. More »


Science

Massive Hydroelectric Dams Could Have Caused the Sichuan Earthquake

3:00PM February 3, 2009 | Elaine Chow

Some scientists are claiming that the Sichuan Earthquake, which killed over 70,000 people, might have been caused by a 150m-high dam constructed just 170m from the fault line.

More »