Image Credit: https://www.amusingplanet.com/2013/04/taum-sauk-hydroelectric-power-station.html
The Ethical Failure of the Taum
Sauk Dam Collapse
Presented By
Jonathan Edwards
Yao Zheng
Thomas Harter
Jordan Weinreich
1
The Taum Sauk Reservoir is designed to store energy for
use during peak demand periods.
Image Credit 1: Link
Image Credit 2: Link
2
The dam failed as a result of erosion, present
because of overfilling.
Image Credit: https://damfailures.org/case-study/taum-sauk-dam-missouri-2005/
3
Dangerous conditions were observed before the ultimate
dam failure.
Image Credit: https://slideplayer.com/slide/14443021/
4
Preventative measures were taken to prevent the collapse,
but ultimately failed.
Image Credit: https://www.ebay.com/itm/124922794354
5
Investigations concluded that Ameren was 100% culpable
for the reservoir failure.
Image Credit: https://damfailures.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/087_Overview-of-the-Taum-Sauk-Pumped-Storage-Power-Plant-Upper-Reservoir-Failure.pdf
6
The company who owns and maintains this project is
Ameren Missouri (formerly Union Electric Company.)
Image Credit 1: Link
Image Credit 2: Link
7
A consultant from the National Academy of Engineering known
as J. Barry Cooke(1915-2005) was involved in the project from
its conception and aware of settling issues around the reservoir.
Image Credit: https://che.engineering.ucdavis.edu/news/alumnus-robert-kiss-national-academy-engineering
8
Geosynthetics Inc. was contracted to line to upper
reservoir in 2004, which led to a 10x reduction in leakage.
Image Credit: https://www.geosynthetics.com/
9
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
declared the Taum Sauk Plant an Engineering Milestone
on Sept. 26, 2005.
Image Credit: https://1000logos.net/ieee-logo/
10
AmerenUE is paying for 100% of the clean-up and repair.
FERC approved AmerenUE’s plan to rebuild the upper
reservoir.
Image Credit: https://elibrary.ferc.gov/eLibrary/search
11
Many engineers were involved in the project who could
have spoken up about discrepancies.
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12
It may have been difficult for engineers to speak up
because of the company's bottom line.
Image Credit: https://www.salesforce.com/ca/blog/2016/08/signs-customer-service-boosting-bottom-line.html
13
Even if an engineer does speak up, management
concerns could easily outweigh engineering concerns.
Image Credit: https://blog.pragmaticengineer.com/things-that-helped-me-successfully-move-into-engineering-management/
14
Even if management refuses to listen, an engineer has
other avenues of action that they can pursue.
Image Credit: https://waydev.co/whats-the-difference-between-engineering-leadership-and-engineering-management/
15
Things like whistleblowing can be effective if all else fails.
However, such an action can often have unforeseen
consequences.
Image Credit: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2041386619849085
16
The Estimates of the destruction and property damage caused
by the failure and ensuing flood have reached $1 billion.
https://spendrichmoney.com/W/William-Wang.html
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Image credit: https://exhibitcitynews.com/how-big-is-one-trillion-dollars/
It's difficult to imagine what the dam break looked like, the 20-foot-high
wall of water knocking trees out of its path and scouring the ground to the
bedrock as it crashed down Proffit Mountain.
Image credit: https://www.cedengineering.com/userfiles/Engineering%20Ethics%20Case%20Study%20The%20Taum%20Sauk%20Reservoir%20Failure%20R1.pdf
18
USGS and UMR scientists and engineers from the Natural Hazard Mitigation Institute
visited the site on 12/15 to conduct analysis of the failure and map affected area.
credit:https://www.weather.gov/media/lsx/Events/12_15_2005.pdf
19
The leakage from the Upper Reservoir has been a continuing
problem and concern beginning in September 1963.
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Image credit: https://www.cedengineering.com/userfiles/Engineering%20Ethics%20Case%20Study%20The%20Taum%20Sauk%20Reservoir%20Failure%20R1.pdf
Ameren was resilient to contribute to restorations, leading
to a year long legal fight with Attorney General Jay Nixon
and head of MO Department of Natural resources Kurt
Schaefer
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay_Nixon
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurt_Schaefer
https://www.ameren.com/missouri/contact-us
21
The “shut-ins” were only minorly affected (a bit silt covered
and full of dubris) thanks in part to the flood travelling first
upstream instead of down stream. Lower Reservoir held
and prevented further injury.
https://www.we
ather.gov/medi
a/lsx/Events/12
_15_2005.pdf
22
Breach caused major discoloration in water of East fork
Black river for around a year.
https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2009/5
111/pdf/SIR2009-5111.pdf
23
Reconstruction plan by Mactec for east fork black river, just
before Johnson Shut-in. Thankfully this section was
well-documented
https://pubs.usg
s.gov/sir/2006/5
284/pdf/SIR06-5
284_508.pdf
24
Restoration consisted of removing debris from the
river, moving and cleaning the sediment off of land
debris, and vacuuming up the sediments.
https://news.stlpublicradio.org/politics-issues/2015-12-13/
ten-year-anniversary-of-reservoir-breach-that-flooded-joh
nsons-shut-ins-state-park
25
The Shut-ins is/was home to a unique type of wetland and
forest called the fen and seep forests respectively. The fen
may never recover from the disaster.
https://mostat
eparks.com/lo
cation/57855/f
en
26
Only one home was directly destroyed by the breach, the
family survived, attributed by them as a miracle.
https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2006/5284/pdf/SIR06-5284_508.pdf
27
The Town of Lesterville, while not physically destroyed,
had been financially ruined with the stark decrease in
tourists, coupled with the 2008 crash.
https://www.munchnpump.com/locationsDetail.php?Munch-N-Pump-Lesterville-15
28
With leftover money from the settlement, the park turned
destruction into a chance for renovations, building a new
visitor center.
https://www.pbs.org/
video/ozarkswatch-v
ideo-magazine-john
sons-shut-ins-statepark/
18:40-20:50
src=https://www.missourinet.com/2010/05/31/new-johnsons-shut-ins-state
29
-park-incorporates-changes-caused-by-breach/
The campgrounds were lost in the destruction, having to
be moved to the other side of the park
https://www.missourinet.com/2010/05/31/new-johnsons-shut-ins-state-park-incorporates-changes-causedby-breach/
https://www.weather.gov/media/lsx/Events/12_15_2005.pdf
30
This building survived the flood mostly intact and was restored.
https://news.stlpublicradio.org/politics-issues/2015-12-13/tenyear-anniversary-of-reservoir-breach-that-flooded-johnsons-s
hut-ins-state-park
https://www.thatawaydad.com/dad-hikes-johnsons-shut-ins-st
ate-park/
https://www.weather.gov/media/lsx/Events/12_15_2005.pdf
31
Ameren began rebuilding the upper reservoir, making extra
sure it will never break again.
https://debyemm.wordpress.
com/tag/johnson-shut-ins/
32
Let’s all congratulate the engineers and scientists of the
Missouri Department of Natural Resources and Mactec for
their diligent work in restoring the Johnson Shut-ins
https://most
ateparks.co
m/park/john
sons-shut-i
ns-state-pa
rk
33
What Equity and Equality concerns can you think of for this
case?
https://interactioninstitute.org/illustrating-equality-vs-equity/
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