> No one is worried about the dam failing My wife, a Water Resources Engineer, is. If the damage to the spillway starts to move sideways, or uphill too far and

> No one is worried about the dam failing My wife, a Water Resources Engineer, is. If the damage to the spillway starts to move sideways, or uphill too far and too deep, you could see the main dam get damaged. It's not as likely as the emergency spillway dropping things 30 feet, as you say, but it's still on the table as a worst-case scenario here.