Dam Alarm
November 17, 2011
Stories this photo appears in:
No Earthquake Damage
Vic White, director of the Lincoln County Emergency Management Agency, inspected the Libby Flower Creek Dam on Friday just hours after the 3.3 magnitude earthquake rattled areas southeast of Missoula. White, who was hunting on Veterans Day, came into town to inspect the dam, which holds back water that supplies Libby. White found the dam to be secure. In the photo, White points to an area where state officials have done a core sampling of the dam. Those findings have led the state to not renew a five-year term for the nearly 50-year-old curved structure. Currently, the city is beginning excavation about 100 yards below the current site for a new gravity-type dam. In the inset photo is conduit city officials have installed for sensors to monitor water levels. The equipment will include visual sensors and an alarm should water levels vary.