Should the Teton Dam be rebuilt?

The Teton Dam bursts on June 5, 1976, killing 11 people, thousands of livestock, and destroying buildings and farms. Standard Journal file photo.
I think rebuilding the Teton Dam should be weighed equally with other water-storage options.
Still, I wasn't around for the flood, so I was wondering what any of those who lived through the disaster think about the idea of rebuilding the dam.
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posted on Wed, Mar 18, 2009 08:09 PM
last updated on Wed, Mar 18, 2009 08:12 PM
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Teton Dam bySpug March 22, 2009 (0 votes) (report abuse) (reply)
Ablsolutly the dam should be rebuilt. The dam is necessary for flood control, it will benefit us by providing hydro electic and a great recreational area.

Spug
Teton Dam byFarmerTom March 26, 2009 (0 votes) (report abuse) (reply)
There is still the question of what caused the original dam to wash out. One conclusion was that the make up of the canyon wall allowed the seepage to begin and saturate the dam itself causing it to wash out. From this they concluded that this canyon wall is not fit for that type of structure. I say, "Lets not experiment with human lives here." This valley has greatly increased in population since 1976. Many say we were lucky to have gotten by with as few fatalities from that as we did. With a significantly higher population we are likely to see fatalities increase exponentially. Lets face the facts here, our government hasn't gotten any smarter since 1976. So why would they do something right now, when they could do it right then.
Presentation on cause of collapse. byFarmerTom March 26, 2009 (0 votes) (report abuse) (reply)
Here is a link to a power point presentation that describes what caused the original dam to collapse. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVs9wmEqb94&feature=related See if you understand it the way I do, but it looks to me like poor site selection was the cause of the 1976 disaster. So why replicate that by building another dam on the same site.
Question for Farmer Tom byAnimal March 27, 2009 (0 votes) (report abuse) (reply)
If you watch the presentation you will see that they list the dates that the leaks start as June 4th 1967, If they can not get the dates right or even close, how much other information is bad??? I am not saying you should support the rebuilding, just pass on factual information.
In Response to Animals Question byFarmerTom March 27, 2009 (0 votes) (report abuse)
That is what is called a transposition error,ie reversing two digits when typing or writing. My English teacher would've freaked if I had put three question marks at the end of a sentence. But we can knit pick over others typing skills forever and where will it get us. Of course you are going to see this different than I. According to your profile, you live in St. Anthony, outside of the flood plain of 76. I live in a house in Sugar City that was built in 1976 after the original house on this lot was washed away. Animal, is your HOME and FAMILY in jeopardy if another dam on the Teton River canyon were to break?