Originally Posted by Snake River Marksman
It doesn't appear as though the spillway is part of the actual dam itself but is instead part of the surrounding landscape?

[Linked Image]


Originally Posted by irfubar
Snakeriver,
Correct the spillways are on an adjacent ridge, separate from the dam.


And for good reason. As bad as the damage looks to the primary spill way there is no threat from it to the main dam structure.
I have seen another image that shows an emergency spill way to the left of the damaged one. Over nothing but raw terrain. That seems to be a Hail Mary situation to save the main dam structure. There is a lot of stuff that can be controled at this point, but how much water ends up coming down that water shed is NOT one of them.