"Grant. We're glad you made it." Fred shook Grant's hand as he exited the car.
Grant couldn't stop the rebuke. "Why aren't the Nevada outlets dumping?"
Fred expected the question. "They won't let us yet. We're on hold. Come inside and I'll fill you in."
Grant wanted to argue, but instead followed Fred into the building. Fred led him down a set of stairs. As they descended, Fred started talking. "The mayor of Laughlin called the governor. So the governor came here and ―"
"The governor of Nevada is here?" Grant asked.
Fred nodded "Yeah. And he's a jerk."
They walked into the main lobby lined with pictures of the dam's construction and facts about how the dam operated. They walked past a chart showing water levels over the past thirty years. The last time Grant had been in the lobby, it was filled with tourists and kids. Fred led them into a small movie theater with the words 'The Story of Hoover Dam' written above the doorway. Inside the theater, a large conference table and chairs had been set up on the floor in front of the screen. Beyond it, the room elevated to auditorium seating. At least fifteen people, mostly men, were talking when Grant and Fred entered. After they entered, the conversations stopped. All eyes met Grant's.
Fred broke the silence. "This is Grant Stevens, from the Bureau in Denver."
A large man in a suit sitting at the end of the table stood. "Where's Commissioner Blackwell?"
Grant knew immediately he must be the governor. He carried a visible aura of authority. Everyone else in the room deferred to him. The governor looked as if he'd played in the NFL before going into politics. His shoulders and chest were huge, and the suit, although obviously expensive and custom fit, seemed out of place on his body style. His hair didn't have a strand out of place, making Grant wonder if he was preparing for a press conference. His entourage contrasted with the Hoover Dam personnel. The governor's people were all in expensive suits; the Bureau people were casual. It was as if the party invitations had neglected to mention proper attire. Grant suddenly felt underdressed for the role he was playing in his slacks and polo shirt.
Grant tried to respond confidently, but his voice cracked. "The commissioner was on his way to Kenya for a dam building symposium on the Tana river. I talked with him this morning. He's made emergency flight plans to return. He's probably on his way here as we speak."
The governor shook his head in disgust. "How inconvenient." He pointed at Grant. "So who's speaking for the Bureau in the meantime, you?"
Grant had never liked guys like this, who tried to intimidate everyone they met. He felt emotion building up inside. He took a step toward the governor. "Yeah. I speak for the Bureau. And who are you?" although he already knew the answer.
The guy took a step forward, obviously unaccustomed to being challenged. The governor's attitude reminded him of the commissioner. The governor grasped both lapels of the expensive suit in a posture of authority. "The name is Rally Jenkins. I'm the governor of Nevada."
Grant nodded his head as if he had just figured it out. He felt himself stepping over the line. It was bad enough that this man had gotten in the way of what needed to be done at Hoover, but the pompous attitude was too much. Grant cleared his throat and then looked straight at the governor. "So are you the one getting in the way of what needs to be done, holding up dumping the water?"
The governor didn't hesitate. "Damn right. I got a call from the mayor in Laughlin early this morning, saying he was told to evacuate everybody around Lake Mojave and Laughlin. He said you guys were going to open the gates and flood em out. When you started evacuating my cities without my permission, I had no choice but to get involved."
Grant nodded, then spoke as if he were talking to a child. "Do you happen to know why we need to open the gates Governor?"
"Sure, somebody blew up the Glen Canyon Dam. But that's over four hundred miles from here. My people need some time to ―"
Grant slammed his fist on the table "There isn't any time!" He saw a few in the room jump at the outburst. The governor himself, showed a moment of apprehension, before his eyes narrowed. Grant brought his voice back to normal. "Sit down and let me explain a few things." He motioned for them to be seated, and some did, but not the governor.
"I know everything I need to know."
Grant started talking before he could stop himself. He pointed at the governor. "I highly doubt that, governor. If you understood the situation, you would understand why we need to open the gates. Since you don't understand, you obviously don't know everything."
The governor's eyes burned.
Grant lowered his voice and removed the hostility from his tone. "Please sit down governor, and I'll try to explain a few things that I think will make a difference in how you feel."
The governor looked around at the others and finally settled into his seat.
Grant looked around at the group. "The governor is correct, the Glen Canyon Dam was blown up this morning. I have in my hand a study completed in 1998 by the Bureau regarding what would happen in just such an event." Grant held up the report that Julia had faxed him in the Gulfstream. "Computer modeling was done to determine the speed of the floodwater, depths, etc. Before I get into the details governor, how about you telling me approximately how much water was in Lake Powell?"
The governor answered with only a touch of apprehension. "Well, I know it's not near as big as Mead."
"Partially true governor. Lake Mead holds 9.3 trillion gallons and Lake Powell holds only 8.5 trillion."
The governor's mouth dropped.
Grant continued. "To put it in perspective, Lake Mead holds just over 2 years of Colorado River flow, and Lake Powell just under. All of you who think there's enough room left behind Hoover to catch the water in Lake Powell, raise your hands." Grant paused for effect. No hands went up. "So, before I start reading from this report, I want to make sure we all agree that Hoover is not going to hold all that water?"
Fred Grainger asked a question. "How long does the report say it will take for the water to get here?"
Grant thumbed through the report until he found the table. "The water will reach the end of Pierce Basin―" He looked up at the group "That's the beginning of Lake Mead." He continued reading. "at approximately 14 hours after the dam failure. Peak levels will occur 20 hours after the break, and be approximately two hundred fifty feet above normal."
Grant looked up. No one spoke. A few persons had their heads down. The governor had a blank look on his face. Grant spoke directly to Fred Grainger. "Fred, do you remember ever using the spillways at Hoover?"
"Yeah, in 1983, the year of the big spring runoff. It was the only year we used the spillways since the dam was built."
"Do you remember how much water went down the spillways and the river?"
Fred nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, peak was just over twenty eight thousand cubic feet per second. That was in addition to another seventy five thousand through the river works."
Grant shook his head. "So the worst flood since the dam was built netted just over a hundred thousand cubic feet per second." He looked directly at the governor. "Governor, were you around in 1983? Do you remember if there was any flooding downstream?" Grant already knew the answer.
The governor hesitated. "That was over twenty years ago, but I heard that there was quite a bit of flooding downstream. A lot of damage. Look, I'm not saying that―"
Grant interrupted him. "Fred, were the spillways running at capacity in 1983?"
Fred shook his head. "No, they'll handle over two hundred thousand cubic feet per second, each."
"Thanks Fred." Grant looked back at the governor. "So if the spillways were full, they'd handle over ten times more than in 1983?" He looked directly at the governor. "Does that sound like a disaster downstream governor?"