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World Environmental and Water Resources Congress 2017 387
and “grouted the big cracks.” The oakum was placed on the downstream face of these cracks to
keep the cement grout from “running out,” as sketched in Fig. 7.
Figure 6. Upturned base of block #7, from the crest of the dam’s left abutment. The open
fissure is transverse shrinkage crack #4, shown in the lower half of Figure 1 (Mayberry et
al., 1928).
LA Bureau of Power & Light (BPL) bus driver Henry Reiz described the various
attempts to plug the tension cracks in the downstream face of the dam, stating “They put sacks to
cork it,” using “rope” to plug the crack at the face.” Hemp rope was inserted into cracks “long
after the dam was completed” (in January and February 1928). Reiz said that “Mr. Jackson was
the construction foreman” involved with this work on the dam. Jackson had previously
supervised the steam shovel and trucks used on the dam construction. All of the dam’s visible
shrinkage cracks were plugged from the downstream face, including the one on the dike section.
World Environmental and Water Resources Congress 2017
