Please be sure to open
the attached Newsletter for more
information on items of
interest, upcoming
events, and field
trips.
CGS
Monthly Meeting
Tuesday,
June 16,
2009
Engineering
Geology of the St. Francis Dam Disaster,
LA/Ventura County
by:
Dr. J. David Rogers
Professor, Missouri University of Science &
Technology
Abstract:
The St. Francis Dam
failed catastrophically
on its first full
filling near midnight on
March 12/13, 1928,
killing approximately
432 people, including
126 dependents of the
Los Angeles Department of Water and Power,
who owned the dam. The
disaster also brought an
abrupt end to the
colorful career of
William Mulholland,
architect of the
Los Angeles water
supply system. The
lecture begins with a
brief description of the
Los Angeles-Owens River
Aqueduct,
the perceived need for
St. Francis, its
original construction,
the dam’s untimely
demise, and the
disaster’s aftermath.
No less than 13
official boards of
inquiry were convened by
various agencies. Most
of these groups
erroneously concluded
that the dam failed on
its right abutment due
to seepage piping along
a dormant fault. The
lecture also describes
the various forensic
methods available to
test various postulates
for the failure, using
state-of-the-art
technology not available
when the dam failed.
The physical evidence is
examined in light of the
purported theories for
failure, presenting the
methods used to
reconstruct the likely
failure sequence,
utilizing all manner of
available information,
including survey data
and colorized ground
photos.
Biography:
J. David Rogers
received his B.S. in
Geology (California
State Polytechnic
University), M.S. in
Civil Engineering
(U.C. Berkeley), and
Ph.D. in Geological and
Geotechnical Engineering
(U.C. Berkeley).
Prior to entering
academia he worked in
the private sector on a
wide array of projects
involving
forensic geology
and engineering. His
Reassessment of the
St. Francis Dam
Failure article was
recognized with the
GSA’s Burwell Award and
the National Research
Council’s
Rock Mechanics
Award.
His lecture on the St.
Francis Dam was selected
by AEG and GSA for the
Jahns’ Distinguished
Lectureship in 1996 and
Sigma Xi’s College of
Distinguished Lecturers
between 1999-2001.
Professor Rogers served
on the faculty of the
Department of Civil &
Environmental
Engineering
at U.C. Berkeley from
1994-2001 before
accepting the Hasselmann
Chair in Geological
Engineering at the
Missouri University of
Science & Technology,
the only endowed chair
in
engineering geology
or geological
engineering in the
United States. This
summer he is here in
southern
California
as a Trent Dames and
Dibner Research Fellow
at the Huntington
Library in Pasadena ,
writing a book about the
St. Francis Dam failure
and its impact on
California,
the Boulder Canyon
Project, and the nation
at large.