: a passage for surplus water to run over or around an obstruction (such as a dam)
Examples of spillway in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the WebPhotos show the cub’s mad dash up and down the spillway — and into a corner.—Brooke Baitinger, Idaho Statesman, 23 Apr. 2024 The main spillway continues to perform well and operate as designed, DWR said, ever since a 2017 incident when one of the dam’s two spillways was heavily damaged and there were fears of major flooding.—David Caraccio, Sacramento Bee, 1 Feb. 2024 Advertisement Had there been no cleanout, the sediment would’ve been so high by now, the dam’s release valves would’ve clogged, and officials would’ve been helpless as floodwaters rushed over the spillway, resulting in an uncontrolled flow downstream along the Arroyo Seco.—Rong-Gong Lin Ii, Los Angeles Times, 11 Feb. 2024 Stagnant water sits below the dry spillway of Falcon Dam in Starr County on Aug. 18, 2022.Photograph: Michael Gonzalez/The Texas Tribune
This story originally appeared on Inside Climate News and is part of the Climate Desk collaboration.—Dylan Baddour, WIRED, 27 Jan. 2024 Then, the remaining dam was notched on alternating sides, with each notch functioning as a temporary spillway to drain the reservoir while encouraging sediment from the upstream delta to move closer to the dam.—Alka Tripathy-Lang, Ars Technica, 11 Jan. 2024 Had that not been done between 2018 and 2021, and regular excavations conducted since, last week’s storm would have forced officials to release a full-to-the-brim reservoir through the dam’s spillway, Pestrella said.—Rong-Gong Lin Ii, Los Angeles Times, 11 Feb. 2024 In 1914, it was reinforced with concrete poured over its stone work, including the spillway.—Mark Pazniokas, Hartford Courant, 11 Jan. 2024 The California Department of Water Resources on Wednesday began releasing water from Oroville Dam’s main spillway.—David Caraccio, Sacramento Bee, 1 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'spillway.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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