Originally Posted by
ShyTorque
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
Photos do show the original masonry spillway running across the bottom of the dam. This won't be "lower down," it will also have a weir at the maximum water level. A spillway is an overflow, it can't be used to lower the water level. The outlet pipes will have a limited capacity - hence the pumping.