Binjiang Police Affairs-Chapter 1017 - 668: Treating a Dead Horse as if It’s Alive

Compared to a visible breach threat, not being able to identify the leakage point while seeing a pipe leakage is more concerning.

The large-scale pipe leakage threat at the East Red Electric Drainage Station was not originally on the rescue list of the Linghai Reserve Camp. It was only added after the superior reported at dawn that the breach at Anzao Dam was caused by improper handling of pipe leakage. Thus, the Jingzhou Flood Control Command put it on the Linghai Reserve Camp's rescue task list.

At 5:30 in the morning, as soon as Han Yu received the order, he immediately had 001 send Master Yao, Old Li, a diver from the Linghai Development Zone Underwater Engineering Company, and three divers from the Navy diving unit over for rescue operations.

Initially, it was thought that the leakage point could be found quickly, but after a long search, even Old Li, who had extensive underwater construction experience, went down, but still couldn't find the leakage point!

The pipe leakage is located twenty-one meters from the electric drainage station, essentially at the base of the dyke where it connects with the station. Initially discovered with three leakage points, it grew to eleven in just half a day!

When Master Yao and his team set off, Secretary Wang specifically asked them to bring a large sign.

As soon as they arrived in the morning, they hurriedly put up the large sign.

Looking at the eleven "bubbling springs" gushing water continuously and then glancing at the rhyme on the sign about pipe leakage rescue, Han Yu felt both anxious and embarrassed, wishing desperately for a hole to crawl into.

This is a significant threat.

As soon as the Village Chief received the report from the Civilian Soldiers patrolling the dyke for threats, he arrived, Vice Mayor Zhong of Shishou City arrived, and the commander of a liberation army unit supporting flood rescue in Shishou also arrived.

"Carefully inspect spring bubbles at the dyke's base, hidden in fields and ponds they might trace. Report spring bubbles timely, egg stones surround and secure safely. Transfer of bubbles, stay calm and composed, cofferdam and filter follow suit and compose. Water storage and pressure reduction as measures, guard and reinforce as treasured treasures."

After reading the promotional slogan that Old Li asked Old Chen to write, the commander turned and asked, "Comrade Xiao Han, we have done everything you asked. Surrounding with egg stones, cofferdam and filter, water storage and pressure reduction; initially it didn't fix the root problem but at least dealt with some symptoms. Now it can't even manage that. What do you suggest we do next?"

Work was not done well, yet eager to advertise.

Now look, it backfired, didn't it?

Just as Han Yu was secretly lamenting, Vice Mayor Zhong urgently asked, "Captain Han, in such situations, how does your assault team generally handle the rescue, I'm talking about foolproof methods."

"Reporting to both leaders, for pipe leakage threats where the leakage point can't be found and are continuously developing and deteriorating, we don't have very good solutions either. The only thing we can do is build a rescue cofferdam behind the group of pipe leakages, so even if the dam gate bursts or the front dyke collapses, the cofferdam can block the incoming floodwater."

"Like how you handled the threat in the Yang Liu Section of Angong County?"

"Yes." 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

As soon as Han Yu finished speaking, the troop commander said, "Then what are we waiting for, let's organize and implement it."

Han Yu replied with a bitter face, "Commander..."

Rescuing a pipe leakage threat is the most troublesome thing, especially with the latest notices from the Provincial Defense Command and the Yangtze Flood Control Headquarters, making those below afraid to act boldly because no one knows if it will be deemed 'improper rescue.'

The number of pipe leakages is increasing, initially, it was clear water coming out, but now it cannot be filtered anymore, and all the leaked water is muddy with a large content of silt.

The commander, anxious beyond belief, looked back at the waiting warriors and said, "What commander, the anti-flood command told us to listen to you, now you're the biggest, you're the commander. Time is tight, quickly give the order."

Han Yu realized that the more urgent the situation, the calmer one must be, and he explained, "Leaders, the success in rescuing the Yang Liu Section threat wasn't just because we had equipment advantages, there was also an element of luck. At that time we urgently built a 60-meter cofferdam, but this 60 meters was arc length, in fact, only encircling a 32-meter risk embankment.

When a collapse breach occurred later, only 21 meters collapsed. If we were unlucky and a chain reaction occurred during the collapse, breaching beyond the protection range of the cofferdam, all our previous efforts would have been in vain."

Vice Mayor Zhong asked in a low voice, "Why not make it longer?"

Han Yu took a deep breath and reported, "When formulating the rescue plan, it wasn't that we didn't consider it. But the situation was urgent at that time, and we didn't have much time, we had to consider our earthwork construction capability, that is, consider how long and high we could construct a cofferdam with the existing equipment and on-site rescue construction conditions within twelve hours."

"And what about here?"

"Below here is a river flat, to build a cofferdam here we need to first build a dam upstream, drain all water in the river, and remove all sediment from the riverbed and river flat before we can construct the cofferdam. So the method used for the Yang Liu Section threat can't be applied here."

The commander couldn't believe there was no way to deal with the pipe leakage upstream, said forcefully, "What if you add us. Comrade Xiao Han, I have two divisions nearby, if that's not enough I can transfer more, however many soldiers you need I'll provide them, I can personally lead by example!"

Han Yu understood the commander's feelings, helplessly said, "Commander, if it depends solely on manpower, it might not be possible to build a water-blocking cofferdam even within a month."

"Isn't your assault team equipped with mechanized gear?"

"Can't get here, at least not within two days."

"Can't get here?"

"We have many rescue tasks." Han Yu thought for a moment and then pointed at the river channel in front: "Even if we could get here, it would take at least a day and night to drain all the water from this river, and even longer to remove the sediment from the river channel and river flat."

The commander stared at him intently and asked, "So there's no way, just let it develop, just watch and let it collapse?"

"Commander, please don't worry, let me take another look, think it over."

"Hurry and look, hurry and think!"

"Yes!"

The gallant general, instead of commanding in the command center, actually ran over here to cause turmoil.

Han Yu felt overwhelmed, climbed up the dyke, and softly asked, "Master Yao, I specialize in external treatments, don't know how to handle this internal issue. You're the internal expert, tell me, what should we do now?"

"I'm not some internal expert, the situation indeed is tricky, I estimate even if Master Xu came over, he wouldn't have a good solution."

"Secretary Han, why don't we go down again and check?"

"Captain Li, your team's physical exhaustion is too great, and the water flow is becoming swifter, diving again is too dangerous, and another dive probably won't yield anything."

Old Li from the Linghai Development Zone Underwater Engineering Company turned to look at the Navy divers who were organizing their equipment on the 001 deck, tightly clenching his fists he said, "The main issue is that the water flow here is too complex, even if bubbles appear, they can't be identified."

Yao Lirong took out his phone and quietly asked, "Should we report to Master Xi?"

"How should we report this?"

"We can only tell the truth. You mentioned earlier that you handle external diseases, and I handle internal ones. But we can only deal with diseases we know how to treat. We really can't handle these complicated issues."

"Don't rush to report it yet."

Han Yu looked back at the base of the dike and said gravely, "I'm not worried about ruining our reputation. The problem now is, we can't solve the problem, so who can? If measures aren't taken quickly, and the water continues to bring silt into the dike, the tragedy of the Anzao Dam might repeat here."

Yao Lirong put down his phone, "Maybe suggest Mayor Zhong organize an evacuation for the people below."

"We can suggest it, but it's easy for us to say; it's not so simple for them to do. Besides, the water level is so high—should people below the dike evacuate, and those on the dike as well? Should we continue to defend this stretch of dry dike?"

"What should we do then?"

If I had a solution, I wouldn't still be standing here!"

"Secretary Han, if there's really no other option, we might need to use rudimentary methods."

Han Yu instinctively asked, "What rudimentary methods?"

Yao Lirong bit his lip and pointed to the river surface below the dike, "We have over two thousand tons of stone material left. Bring all the stone here and dump it!"

While over two thousand tons of stone material seems like a lot, it's actually just two large ships. Dumping it like that won't solve the problem. Unless we're lucky enough that some stones can block the leaks.

Han Yu was silent for a moment, then shook his head, "Our task isn't just to rescue this one breach. The two thousand tons of stone material will be needed later. Dumping it like that is like carpet bombing ants, and it doesn't necessarily kill them."

Captain Li, deeply agreed, looked up and said, "Even if stones are dumped onto the leaks, they might get washed away. The water flow below is very rapid; we can't even stand firm down there."

"This doesn't work, that doesn't work, we can't just stand here and stare blankly."

"Let's get on the boat and start a Zhuge Liang meeting."

"Alright."

...

The three of them took the iron dinghy back to 001, where the military commander and Vice Mayor Zhong climbed onto the dike.

Captain Li had never seen such high-ranking officials before, and asked nervously, "Secretary Han, is that general worried that we might flee?"

"There's no time to worry about that now, let's handle the main task first."

"Okay."

"Master Yao, you know the situation best, please explain it to everyone." Han Yu walked into the command cabin and turned on the high-frequency radio, handing the speaker over.

Yao Lirong hastily took the speaker, holding it near his mouth to call the communications and power support squad.

Upon hearing the call, Engineer Yan immediately connected the high-frequency radio signal to the relay station's walkie-talkies, allowing more officers and soldiers to listen.

"The sluice gate is not directly facing the river surface; it's built at an abandoned river mouth that connects to the Yangtze. The river mouth is about eighty meters wide. Due to sediment accumulation, during the dry season, both the sluice gate and river mouth are exposed above the water. On the side facing the Yangtze, the river shoals vary in height, causing complex water flow conditions. With just the naked eye, you can see six whirlpools..."

After Yao Lirong finished briefing the situation, Han Yu took the speaker, "Comrades, that's basically the situation. The breach is expanding, the water coming in is increasing and becoming muddier. Conventional methods can't manage it anymore. There are hundreds of thousands of people below the dike, and the situation is urgent. Let's all brainstorm together and think about how to rescue!"

"Can't we repair a cofferdam?"

"The site lacks the construction conditions for repairing a cofferdam, and we can't bring all the equipment over to repair a cofferdam right now either."

"Secretary Han, conventional methods don't work, we can't find the leak, can't repair a cofferdam. Even you don't have a solution, what can we do?"

"That's right, Secretary Han, if there's no way, let the local leaders organize an evacuation for the people."

...

Listening to the officers and soldiers chatter back and forth, Han Yu realized he was putting them in a difficult position.

Just as he thought perhaps Master Xi would be just as helpless here, Little Bricklayer's voice suddenly came through the radio, "Secretary Han, if there's no better solution, let's treat a dead horse as if it were alive."

"Tell me, how do we treat a dead horse as if it were alive?"

"Drill multiple holes, drill deeper. The breach is at the base of the dike; we can definitely reach the water seepage layer."

"Xiao Du, are you suggesting grouting?"

"Add more cement to the grout, increase the pressure of the grouting pump, and directly inject into it. Maybe it can block it."

This is a piping issue, not a crack. Even if lucky enough to inject the grout, it would be washed away by the water.

But the current situation is that there really isn't a better solution. As Little Bricklayer said, just treat a dead horse as if it were alive.

Han Yu pondered for a moment and agreed, "Alright, hurry over."

Du Yuan didn't expect Han Yu to actually adopt his suggestion and said hurriedly, "Secretary Han, our drill isn't long enough to drill that deep!"

"This is right next to the sluice gate, the dike surface is very wide, at least seven or eight meters."

Regardless of whether grouting would work, it's at least better than being completely helpless. Han Yu paused and continued, "Moreover, there are many army officers and soldiers on and below the dike. I'll request them to dig holes, dig more and dig deeper. When you guys arrive, you can drill in the holes."

"Secretary Han, we're currently assisting in the rescue."

"Leave that aside, I'll have the on-duty officer arrange replacements for you. Quickly come over and act fast."