Today’s Word of the Day is “Weir.”
Weir
noun – wer, wir
Definition
1 : a fence or enclosure set in a waterway for taking fish
2 : a dam in a stream or river to raise the water level or divert its flow
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I’m not much of a fisherman, so it’s the last part of this definition – about “diverting flow” – that interests me most today. It’s the rainy season in Northern California right now. That means raging rivers, rising water levels, and flood insurance. It has literally not stopped raining here since the first of the New Year, so things are getting pretty soggy.
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In my walk along the top of the levee on the west bank of the Sacramento River yesterday, I came across one of those plaques placed by some government agency that details some bit of historical information about what you see before you. In this case, it was “The Sacramento Weir.” I didn’t take a picture of the plaque; but then, the type would be so small, you’d have to squint to read it. So instead, you can read for yourself all about The Yolo Bypass, The Yolo Causeway, and the Fremont/Sacramento Weirs: Here, here, and here.
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Where we used to live back in the early 90’s in downtown Sacramento: This was an old 1890’s Victorian that had been divided into 2 apartments. We had the upstairs, which was originally owner-occupied. Downstairs was the servants’ quarters which got flooded out from time to time whenever the river spilled its banks. Of course, that was prior to construction of the levee/bypass/weir system.
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In the Mansion Flats neighborhood, the foundation of our friends’ house is being raised over 6 feet to mitigate against a 200-year flood event. The entire house sits on jacks. It’s almost as expensive as new construction, but it does preserve some gorgeous old Victorian architecture.
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Me personally? I’ll just buy flood insurance. It’s a bargain.
Fascinating, isn’t it?! Have you done any investigation concerning the raising of “Old”” Sacramento’s street levels (and moving some of the “downtown” businesses) following the devastating floods of the 1850’s and 1860’s? Another incredible story!
Shenzhen doesn’t get the kind of flooding Hong Kong has, but it sure does have a lot of construction going on. It seems that the government has employed too many road workers, and so despite the fact that none of the streets could possibly be older than me, they have a constant cycle of digging up perfectly good roads just to lay them down again.
Hong Kong definitely takes the brunt of typhoon season, but all the scaffolding in SZ is a bit nerve-wracking in the wind.