Three Mile Island, The Susquehanna, and Sandy

[jberryhill]

I don't know who might remember Agnes, but there are some heavily populated flood prone zones in Pennsylvania and New York. If you are from those areas, ask your folks if they remember Agnes. It wasn't wind that was a problem, but the staggering amount of water she dumped.

Some time ago, I posted on DU some pictures I snapped of the screen of an Exelon consulting civil engineer who was seated diagonally from me on his way to a presentation to management. Long story short from what I shoulder-surfed and captured is that the river model around which the flood defenses from TMI is designed, is obsolete. Other river projects and changed drainage have increased the "100 year flood" model by several feet.

While there are some stopgap measures in place, the presentation was apparently prepared to explain the expense of proposed improvements to TMI flood protection.

The guy had a sense of humor, as his first slide, before he edited it, said:

"Hey, let's build a nuclear plant in the middle of a river; right near an airport, and next to the capital of Pennsylvania!"

Pretty funny.

Anyway, a whole lot of this storm is going to end up dumping into the Susquehanna.

[WinkyDink]

1. Yes, And then....?

[jberryhill]

8. "No 'and then'!"

[Junkdrawer]

2. Arnie Gundersen keeps saying that what did in Fukushima was "loss of ultimate heat sink"....

They make submersible pumps - but the industry prefers the cheaper kind that fail when submerged.

[marezdotes]

3. Hell ya I remember Agnes

I was 14 and growing up in Elmira, NY.

[jpak]

4. Agnes dumped ~30 inches of rain - Sandy expected to dump 10 inches.

But we will not know the full impact until after the storm.

[Junkdrawer]

5. "More than a Dozen Nuclear Plants Near Hurricane Sandy’s Path Brace for Impact"

Bloomberg reports:

“Because of the size of [Hurricane Sandy], we could see an impact to coastal and inland plants,” Neil Sheehan, a spokesman based in Philadelphia for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, said by phone today. “We will station inspectors at the sites if we know they could be directly impacted.”


The NRC met earlier today to discuss the necessary precautions to take for the storm, Sheehan said. Plants must begin to shut if wind speeds exceed certain limits, he said.




http://www.zerohedge.com/contributed/2012-10-26/more-dozen-nuclear-plants-near-hurricane-sandy%E2%80%99s-path-brace-impactcc

[PCIntern]

6. there was a pic of my house on the Delaware Canal

because I and my family were victims of Agnes.

The canal broke thru its berm into the river and emptied between Lumberville and New Hope right at my house in Center Bridge, about 3 miles north of New Hope. we evacuated to Doylestown. And so began a new adventure...

[jberryhill]

7. Wilkes Barre got it something awful

[MadrasT]

9. Hell, *I* remember Agnes.

I lived in Lancaster and the Susquehanna flooded something awful.

And I grew up 15 miles from TMI.

I am in Chester County PA now, and this storm has me worried sick.

[jberryhill]

10. Don't move near me

It sounds like you bring trouble with you.