Rybinsk lock accident. The accident at the Rybinsk lock: the first wake-up call? Ministry of Emergency Situations: there is no threat of serious flooding
Due to the emergency at the Rybinsk Reservoir, tourist passenger ships are likely to change routes. Among the large motor ships there are several with calls at the port of Nizhny Novgorod. If the situation does not change, tourists and residents of the city will have to get to the Volga capital by bus.
An accident occurred in the Rybinsk reservoir in the first days of May - due to a strong flood, the lock leaf could not withstand the strong pressure of the water during the descent and broke. According to the Federal Agency for Marine and River Transport, the lower leaf of the eleventh lock was damaged. As a result of the incident, no one was injured.
But the trouble still happened, due to the obstruction of the lock on the Volga, a huge traffic jam formed from passenger ships and cargo ships. There are also Nizhny Novgorod flights among those waiting for locking.
Now the diving team and mechanics are trying to eliminate the accident at the Rybinsk reservoir. But, most likely, cruise ships will have to change their route. Rosmorrechflot assured yesterday that the breakdown would be eliminated on May 4, today it is reported that traffic through the gateway will be restored by May 5 by 15 o’clock, but flights may be delayed for another day.
Infoflot in NN told reporters that they were aware of the current situation and that they were primarily concerned about resolving the problem with tourists caught in a traffic jam on cruise ships. The most difficult thing is to urgently change the approved routes so that vacationers can continue their journey.
According to experts, in the worst case scenario, tourists will be offered to continue traveling on sightseeing buses. We have already made changes to the schedules of the motor ships "Georgy Zhukov" and "Alexander Benois", the ships will just have to wait for the restoration of the lock. If the situation does not improve on May 6 and the dam is not restored, then the tourists of the Georgy Zhukov motor ship will have to get to the ship by bus.
The breakdown at the Rybinsk reservoir is not as simple as Rosmorrechflot reports. Portal 76.ru writes that the Morrechstroy company, which was engaged in the overhaul of these locks in 2008-2010, agreed that the emergency was due to a strong flood. But this is only a consequence, not a cause. When the company made repairs, there were no special instructions for using the gateway. It was supposed to be developed by specialists from the design institute, but it was not.
The Federal Agency for Water Resources instructed PJSC RusHydro to limit the discharge of water from the Rybinsk hydroelectric complex until the completion of repair work. The spillway dam of the Rybinsk hydroelectric power station is closed, idle discharge is stopped. A commission has been set up to establish the causes of the accident at the gateway.
Trouble occurred with the Nizhny Novgorod courts at the same time in the north of the country. The Volga Shipping Company told the NN.RU portal that 4 cargo ships got stuck in the ice on the Onega River in the Arkhangelsk region. There is no danger to people, no one was hurt, but it is likely that an icebreaker will have to be called in to help.
With all the ensuing consequences
We're all going to die, Mom! I ran into the kitchen with a panicked scream. - The lock will break and the wave will cover us all! Such that Krymsk is resting!
Mom started. She dried her hands with a towel and looked out the window.
So. And what, it's me, right through the balcony, I'll swim out on the sofa and I'll be carried to you in Yaroslavl? she giggled. But, meeting my gaze, she asked already quite seriously: - Do you think we should pack our bags?
Mom lives in the village of Volzhsky in Rybinsk. This microdistrict and the "city" connect the gateway and the bridge. Such a peninsula is obtained. Gates of the gateway can be seen directly from the embankment.
With this beauty, which may turn out to be a disaster, I scared my mother. Of course! When two representatives of the MorRechStroy company, which carried out the reconstruction of the gateway, turned to the editorial office of Komsomolskaya Pravda and showed their documents, the hair on their heads began to stir.
This is a particularly dangerous structure with all the ensuing consequences, - Alexander Sukhmanov, the chief engineer of MorRechStroy, was nervous. You can understand it - no one responded to more than 160 appeals to various authorities about the state of the Rybinsk lock.
Scheme of a possible breakthrough of locks
Steel doors, "walking" jambs
In 2008, it was decided to reconstruct the lower double-leaf gates of the Rybinsk lock and replace worn-out leaves. Old, riveted gates were replaced with rigid welded ones. MorRechStroy was the general contractor for the reconstruction.
The steel structures of the gates are designed in such a way that they rest on concrete abutments. It's like a door that is hung on a door frame. A strong jamb - the door is harder to knock out. Only lock "doors" should still be very tight. And the designers calculated everything correctly. It just turned out that the “jambs” themselves were almost shaking.
And it turns out that the water now presses on the gate unevenly. And in the place where the “door” fits snugly against the “jamb”, the load exceeds the design one, and where there is a gap, there is no load. This is where it gets awkward. The load from the water in the chamber on the gate is 8800 tons!
Under unfavorable conditions, the welds may burst, the sash may collapse and water from the chamber will rush into the territory below ... - the engineers warn. - The security of the gateway operation is not ensured.
Morrechstroy workers reported deviations from the project to the Moscow Canal enterprise, on whose balance sheet there is a hydroelectric complex and a gateway.
There we were told to eliminate the deviations on our own, without presenting the technical solution of the designers, - Alexander Sukhmanov is indignant.
The gateway survived the navigation of 2010. But the problem hasn't gone away. "MorRechStroy" offered an alternative option: since it is impossible to fix the gate rigidly, adjust their middle position. But the Moscow Canal, as the Morrechstroyers say, did not approve this proposal.
Of course, this is not a structure that will blow away from the breath of the breeze - the design of the gate is very powerful.
However, it is impossible to operate a particularly dangerous structure in this mode! - MorRechStroy employees are sure.
And here another problem pops up. The gates were installed by “morrechstroevtsy”, and the operating instructions commissioned by the “Moscow Canal” were to be developed by a design organization. For all MorRechStroy's inquiries about whether there is such an instruction, only one answer came from the Moscow Channel during three navigations - "Under development".
Here it is necessary to understand that the lock belongs to the first class of “especially dangerous hydraulic structures”. You can't just wipe the gate with a cloth. Each action for maintenance and repair is carried out strictly according to the instructions.
Here you imagine an old TV. If it breaks down and you call the wizard, he will first ask you for instructions with a wiring diagram. To understand what broke where, - explained the deputy chief engineer of MorRechStroy Oleg Gulak. - And here is such a building! You definitely need an instruction manual.
The lock gates must converge very tightly.
It turns out that the gates were replaced, but it is not known how to “care for them” in a new way. After all, they serve the new gates according to the instructions for the old ones - according to the document of 1941 ...
The threat of a hydrodynamic accident with such incorrect operation of the equipment and abutments is not excluded! - warns the chief engineer of "MorRechStroy" Alexander Sukhmanov.
If it suddenly "explodes", it will not seem enough: the lower gate leaves will collapse - a wave of 18 meters will go. For comparison: in Krymsk there was a wave of 7 meters, in Japan - 11 ...
However, such a wave from the chamber is not the worst thing.
If the upper gates collapse, the Rybinsk reservoir will run out, which will be extremely difficult to stop,” Sukhmanov explained. – And then, in case of an unfavorable development of events, the water intakes of the reservoir in the Yaroslavl, Vologda and Tver regions will dry up. People will be left without water, and downstream the scale of destruction from the flow of water from the Rybinsk reservoir is unpredictable ...
Oil was added to the fire by Alexander Litvinov, hydrologist, doctor of geographical sciences, more than 50 years old
investigating the water mass of the Rybinsk reservoir:
Based on the above documents, dangerous imperfections relate to the gates of the lower airlock - this is “pleasant”. If an accident occurs, only the space between the gateways will be emptied. But for a man-made disaster, this is also a lot. And if all this mass of water rushes in, then several districts of Rybinsk will not be in trouble.
The scale of destruction is frightening. Rybinsk is the second largest city in the Yaroslavl region with a population of about 200,000 people. Under the water will be private houses, and entire neighborhoods with high-rise buildings, kindergartens ... With all the usual city life.
The catastrophe, according to the hydrologist, will be rather big if it happens instantly and uncontrollably. Water can rise in an hour or two or three.
It will not be possible to evacuate, - the hydrologist frightens. - True, this will not last long - the wave will quickly fade away. But after all, only two hours were enough for Krymsk. A real catastrophe will happen if the upper gate suddenly fails, then ... But I will not scare you with apocalyptic pictures. The certificate of the technical condition presents nine egregious violations that could lead to disaster. In this state, I wouldn’t trust a child with a scooter, with mismatched parts and unscrewed bolts. You will say: think, the bolt is not screwed? And you imagine the bolt of a sluice gate - there the “under-rotation” can be measured in meters. I join the engineers' demand to suspend the post-launch guarantee until the operation of the Rybinsk lock is fully brought into line with the requirements established in Russia and the world. Unfortunately, it seems to me that the security of strategic facilities in our country has not been up to par for a long time ...
point-blank question
After such statements, we rushed to the gateway. It is difficult to describe this structure without a thousand exclamation marks. To get to the very top, Timur Borisov, the director of the lock, took us to the elevator - an ordinary one with black buttons, which are in any nine-story building.
The view from the top of the reservoir and the river is mesmerizing.
Everyone who manages to visit here has such a reaction, - Timur Borisov smiled, leading us from one lock tower to another along a wide passage. “And I’ve been working here for so long that this feeling has dulled. By the way, here are the very two cells with gates that you so wanted to see (Borisov points to the structure from the balcony with his hostess's hand). Everything works!
The lock belongs to the first class of "especially dangerous hydraulic structures". Photo: Elena Vakhrusheva
The smile on the face of the director disappears as soon as we move from examining the “household” to an official conversation on camera. I feel like a schoolgirl in the principal's office.
The state of the gateway should be monitored by specialists. And only experts can understand this topic. And you are reporters, - immediately cut off Borisov. And then - dry, as instructed:
Operating instructions for lower double-leaf gates are available. There are some differences between the new gates and the old ones, but there is no fundamental change in the design. The previous instruction was revised taking into account the changes and re-approved in May 2012 as a temporary one. Changes will still be made to it and the final version of the updated instructions will be developed.
- So, the engineers from MorRechStroy are sounding the alarm in vain? As a director, can you confidently declare the security of the gateway?
I believe that the structure is in a safe condition, it is operated correctly and does not pose a danger, - Borisov minted.
How does the notification system work? If something bad happens, how do we know about it?
The project of a local warning system that meets modern requirements is at the stage of final state expertise. This is done by the board of the Moscow Canal. There is generally a well-established systemic approach to alerting. This is the interaction of dispatch services with the dispatch services of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the unified dispatch service of the city, and so on. In addition, the facility has a siren, which is regularly checked and maintained.
Wow! And in the 17 years of my life in the village of Volzhsky, I have never heard this siren ... Shouldn't there have been some kind of exercises?
The fact that you have never heard our siren is normal, because when checking the siren, a short start is made - so as not to misinform others!
...and nobody's gateway
There was no peace in my soul. "Morrechstroevtsy" portend a great catastrophe, the director of the airlock with a calm look says that everything is in order ... You can get confused! So are we in danger or not? And who controls the state of the gateway? To find out this question, I had to sweat. At some point, I got the impression that no one controls the gateway at all!
In Rostekhnadzor, we were surprised to learn that the locks are not in their competence. But employees of Rostekhnadzor advised me to apply to the cascade of the Upper Volga HPPs. It would seem to someone, if not for them, to deal with gateways. But no! Fail again...
Of course, we turned to the Ministry of Emergency Situations. But rescuers are rescuers for that - they act when something happens ...
And as in fortune-telling, the matter was over and the heart calmed down only at the very end. When the consultant of the department for supervision of port activities, shipping and port hydraulic structures in Gosmorrechnadzor Vitaly Kochetkov.
Vitaly Vadimovich, have you received an appeal from MorRechStroy about the state of the Rybinsk lock? - I ask a phrase that has already set the teeth on edge.
There have been.
And how was it reacted to?
A check has been made. And after it, it is indicated that everything complies with the safety declaration.
That is, the state of the Rybinsk lock can be considered safe?
“Well, yes” - these last words from the supervisory authorities, coupled with the assurances of the director of the lock, seemed to calm down. And yet ... Why then did two engineers from MorRechStroy come from Moscow to Yaroslavl with a pile of papers? Why were they so nervous and calling every day while the publication was being prepared? It turns out like this: on the one hand, there are engineers with their technical calculations, papers, documents and emotions. And on the other - officials of various instances with their dry and faceless "Everything is normal." And I don’t know why, even after all the comments from these officials, a worm of doubt still remains in my soul. However, my mother is no longer in a hurry to pack her bags. Perhaps it will carry?
For several years, environmentalists, engineers and professional hydraulic engineers have been sounding the alarm: the Rybinsk hydraulic structures require major repairs. But the management of the hydroelectric power station and the gateway respond to all requests and appeals that everything is fine with them. On May 2, in Rybinsk, the Volzhskaya embankment was flooded so that people were kayaking and fishing along the street, and then it turned out that there had been an accident at the lock.
Scientists have warned of disaster
In October 2013, the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation held public hearings on the problems of the Rybinsk Reservoir. Particular attention was focused on the emergency state of hydraulic structures built for 75 years under conditions of an acute shortage of building materials and within the short time frame of one five-year plan; in addition, non-professional workers, prisoners of Volgostroy, were engaged in construction, which naturally also affected the quality of the structure.
The reason for the discussion in the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation of this urgent topic was two documents. The first is the study of the engineer, director of the Federal State Unitary Enterprise "Moscow Canal" Igor Andreevich Dubinsky. The second is the study of the lock concrete by a group of scientists led by Nikolay Konstantinovich Rozental, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Head of the Concrete Corrosion Sector of the NIIZhB. These documents are evidence that the condition of the hydraulic structures poses a danger to Rybinsk and the cities downstream of the Volga, or rather the Gorky reservoir. The Golden Ring wrote about these studies in detail in the materials under the heading "Concrete is tired." In these materials and in the resolutions of the round tables of scientists of the Interregional Public Council on the problems of the Rybinsk Reservoir, which was also written by the Golden Ring, there were repeated warnings about a possible accident at the sluice and the hydroelectric power station. And here is the accident. To eliminate this accident, 50 workers, engineers and hydraulic engineers worked for 5 days - day and night. Thank God, everything went without casualties and natural disasters. But what could happen? And what might happen in the near future? And what is the state of the gateway?
If there is a wave
In 2008, the lower double-wing gates of the sluice were reconstructed. Old worn-out doors were replaced with riveted rigid welded gates. The general contractor for the reconstruction was ZAO MorRechStroy.
The steel structures of the gates are designed so that they rest on concrete abutments. It's like a door that is hung on a doorframe. The stronger the jamb, the harder it is to kick the door. Only lock "doors" should be very tight. And the designers calculated them correctly. It just turned out that the “jambs” themselves were worn out to the limit and, as they say, go shaking. Simply put, the gates were put up new, heavy, and the jambs left the old ones from Stalin's times.
Moreover, after installing these gates, it turned out that for some reason the water now presses unevenly on the gate. And in the place where the “door” fits snugly against the “jamb”, the load exceeds the design one, and where there is a gap, there is no load. The load from the water in the chamber on the gate is 8800 tons!
“Under unfavorable conditions, the welds may burst, the sash may collapse and water from the chamber will rush into the underlying territory ...” Aleksandr Sergeyevich Sukhmanov, chief engineer of MorRechStroy CJSC, warned us in 2012. “The security of the lock is not guaranteed,” he said.
Sukhmanov reported deviations from the project to the management of the Moscow Canal Federal State Unitary Enterprise, the managing organization of the gateway.
- There we were told to eliminate the deviations on our own, without submitting a technical solution from the designers and other documentation.
MorRechStroy offered an alternative option: since it is impossible to fix the gate rigidly, it is possible to adjust their middle position. But the Moscow Channel, for some reason, did not approve this proposal. Perhaps they decided to save money.
- It is impossible to operate a particularly dangerous structure in this mode! - Alexander Sukhmanov, chief engineer of MorRechStroy CJSC, said in 2012.
Then another problem surfaced. The gates were installed by "Morrechstroy", and the operating instructions commissioned by the Federal State Unitary Enterprise "Canal named after Moscow" were to be developed by a design organization. For all MorRechStroy's inquiries about whether there is such an instruction, only one answer came from the Moscow Channel during three navigations - "Under development".
Here it is necessary to understand that the lock belongs to the first class of “especially dangerous hydraulic structures”. Each maintenance and repair action must be carried out strictly according to the instructions, and not at random. And it turned out that the gates were replaced, but it is not known how to operate them. And I had to use the old documents of 1941.
In 2008-2012, having failed to find understanding among the management of the MorRechStroy gateway, he wrote 160 appeals to various authorities, but they did not find understanding among the officials. From everywhere there were either replies or promises. And Alexander Sukhmanov was forced to turn to journalists. In the fall of 2012, in an interview, he stated:
- The threat of a hydrodynamic accident with such incorrect operation of the equipment and abutments is not excluded! If it suddenly "explodes", it will not seem enough: the lower gate leaves will collapse - a wave of 18 meters will go to Rybinsk. For comparison: in Krymsk there was a wave of 7 meters, in Japan at Fokushima - 11.
Thank God, in May 2017, the hydrodynamic accident turned out to be insignificant. By some miracle, the gate held. The consequences of the accident were eliminated. But what will happen next?
Scientists, physicists, ecologists and independent hydraulic engineers have been sounding the alarm for years, writing letters, holding rounds and conferences, trying to get into the media, and officials and the management of the gateway and hydroelectric power station calmly report that everything is fine and wonderful with us; that the safety documentation corresponds to the technical condition of the hydraulic structures, that there is no cause for concern. However, will these officials respond as they deserve when Rybinsk, Tutaev and Yaroslavl are swept away by a powerful wave?
Dmitry KONOVALOV, Interregional Public Council on the Problems of the Rybinsk Reservoir.
In the pictures: Volzhskaya embankment in Rybinsk May 2: Ministry of Emergency Situations scheme: what will happen to Rybinsk in case of a sluice breach.
