Probable hydrologic effects of a hypothetical failure of Mackay Dam on the Big Lost River Valley from Mackay, Idaho to the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory
Water-Resources Investigations Report
79-99
By: Leroy Druffel, Gloria J. Stiltner, and Thomas N. Keefer
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Abstract
Mackay Dam is an irrigation reservoir on the Big Lost River, Idaho, approximately 7.2 kilometers northwest of Mackay, Idaho. Consequences of possible rupture of the dam have long concerned the residents of the river valley. The presence of reactors and of a management complex for nuclear wastes on the reservation of the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL), near the river , give additional cause for concern over the consequences of a rupture of Mackay Dam. The objective of this report is to calculate and route the flood wave resulting from the hypothetical failure of Mackay Dam downstream to the INEL. Both a full and a 50 percent partial breach of this dam are investigated. Two techniques are used to develop the dam-break model. The method of characteristics is used to propagate the shock wave after the dam fails. The linear implicit finite-difference solution is used to route the flood wave after the shock wave has dissipated. The time of travel of the flood wave, duration of flooding, and magnitude of the flood are determined for eight selected sites from Mackay Dam, Idaho, through the INEL diversion. At 4.2 kilometers above the INEL diversion, peak discharges of 1,550.2 and 1,275 cubic meters per second and peak flood elevations of 1,550.3 and 1,550.2 meters were calculated for the full and partial breach, respectively. Flood discharges and flood peaks were not compared for the area downstream of the diversion because of the lack of detailed flood plain geometry. (Kosco-USGS)
Suggested Citation
Druffel, L., Stiltner, G.J., Keefer, T.N., 1979, Probable hydrologic effects of a hypothetical failure of Mackay Dam on the Big Lost River Valley from Mackay, Idaho to the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report 79-99, v, 47 p. , https://doi.org/10.3133/wri7999.
Study Area
| Publication type | Report |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | USGS Numbered Series |
| Title | Probable hydrologic effects of a hypothetical failure of Mackay Dam on the Big Lost River Valley from Mackay, Idaho to the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory |
| Series title | Water-Resources Investigations Report |
| Series number | 79-99 |
| DOI | 10.3133/wri7999 |
| Year Published | 1979 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | U.S. Geological Survey |
| Publisher location | Reston, VA |
| Description | v, 47 p. |
| Country | United States |
| State | Idaho |
| Other Geospatial | Mackay Dam |