Originally Posted by
Pozidrive
What you overheard was absolute nonsense. The current pictures clearly show the weir at the top of the spillway. This controls the maximum level, no valves involved. Outlet valves will be at the bottom, possibly in a tunnel within the dam. These will be in regular use to control the flow from the reservoir, and will be maintained in good working order, certainly not allowed to "rust solid over many years".
Two points:
There is now a new page on the BBC news site showing a photo attributed to the Canal and River Trust which shows the face of the dam. The "weir" is annotated as "Auxiliary Spillway" and appears to have been added later. The main spillway is lower down, as I was led to understand.
If the main spillway was serviceable, why is the water being pumped out from above (difficult, very expensive and potentially dangerous), rather than being allowed to drain naturally from below through the valves (i.e. main spillway)?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-englan...shire-49220650