- How French Drains Work (practical.engineering)
In February of 2017, one of the largest spillways in the world, the one at Oroville Dam in northern California, was severely damaged during releases from heavy rain. You might remember this. I made a video about it, and then another one about the impressive feat of rebuilding the structure. In the forensic report following the incident, one of the contributing causes identified in the failure was the drainage system below the spillway. Rather than being installed below the concrete, each drain protruded into it, reducing the thickness of the concrete and making it more prone to cracking.
- Seattle Neighborhoods: Rainier Beach — Thumbnail History (historylink.org)
Rainier Beach is located in the southeast corner of Seattle on the shore of Lake Washington, just inside the Seattle city limits and not far from Renton at the south end of the lake. Dubbed Atlantic City by Clarence D. Hillman (1870-1935), who developed much of the area in the 1890s, the Rainier Beach neighborhood also includes nearby communities such as Pritchard Island, once home to a Duwamish village, and Dunlap, named for the pioneer family that homesteaded the area and logged the huge timber.
