Should Republicans go ahead and add Supreme Court Justices to head off Democrats

Dam damage at Lake Livingston "serious"

Houston Chronicle:

The unprecedented damage to the Lake Livingston dam caused by Hurricane Rita was termed "a serious situation" on Sunday by the Trinity River Authority.

While stressing there is no need to panic, Trinity River Authority spokesman John Jadrosich said it was imperative to draw down the lake and assess the damage.

The 2 1/2 -mile-long earthen dam was erected three decades ago to provide drinking water for the city of Houston. The dam, which holds back enough water from the Trinity River to form a lake with 55 miles of shoreline, is north of Houston near Livingston off U.S. 59.

Rita's winds of up to 117 mph created monster waves that crashed against the dam for hours, splashing 14 feet over the top. This acted like a power washer, peeling off the huge granite boulders that protected the dam.

Several thousand feet — or 60 percent of the dam — was left exposed. Waves also eroded some of the soil, authorities said, but they don't yet know if there is other damage.

...

On Sunday, the lake level was being lowered by at least four feet to expose the structure. An engineer from New York was on site to examine the dam. The lowered lake will expose up to 200 feet of soggy ground at the bottom of the lake and leave many boat docks standing high and dry.