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April 23, 2020

Report: Nebraska dam had history of ice woes before last year's fatal failure

  • One expert says inspectors need to look at a dam's history, how it was constructed and how it would perform in a disaster.
    • By DAVID A. LIEB and MICHAEL CASEY
    Associated Press

    Photos from Nebraska Department of Natural Resources via AP [enlarge]
    This combination of file photos shows the Spencer Dam in November 2013, top, when it was holding back water on the Niobrara River and again in March 2019, after it failed during an icy flood.

    A Nebraska dam that collapsed under pressure from an icy flood had a history of unaddressed ice problems and had no formal emergency plan because regulators wrongly assumed that no one would die if it failed, according a report released Tuesday.


     
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