CEE 2804 INTRODUCTION to CIVIL ENGINEERING Oct. 6, 2014 The Johnstown Flood of 1889 Dams Stormwater Ethics

Why do floods occur?

Johnstown Flood 31 May 1889 (4:07 PM) denuded river banks river capacity cut in half club hired unskilled workers to build dam, no engineering spillway blocked, overflow pipes removed club ignored report club employee warns town, townspeople ignore telegraph legendary bombastic style Victorian melodrama songs

Smethport Redbank Johnstown

Mm Storm of 31 May 1889 “When the storm struck western Pennsylvania it was the worst downpour that had ever been recorded for that section of the country. The Signal Service called it the most excessive rainfall of the century for so large an area and estimated that from 6 to 8 inches of rain fell in 24 hours over nearly the entire central section.”

South Fork Dam Cross-Section

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q62vlcFLLlM

Scientific Social Symbolic

Was this disaster an act of providence? What ethical standards should be used to evaluate the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club’s role in the disaster? What could have been done differently to avoid this flood?

http://www.asce.org/uploadedFiles/Ethics/Principles-Study-Application/ASCE-Code-Of-Ethics-2012-low-res.pdf