Water normally passes through the main spillway or outlet works; it should pass over an auxiliary spillway only during periods of high reservoir levels and high water inflow. All embankment and most concrete dams have some seepage.
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How was the river diverted during dam construction? The river was diverted around the damsite through four 50-foot diameter tunnels, two on each side of the river drilled through the canyon walls.
What remains in the lake eventually reaches the Hoover Dam, and when this water is released, it surges through Black Canyon into Lake Mohave. This flow is Lake Mohave's only major water source. From there, the Colorado River continues on for hundreds of miles toward the Gulf of California.
While the dam is expected to last for centuries, engineers predict the structure could last for more than 10,000 years, surpassing most remnants of human civilization if humans were to disappear from the earth. However, they also predict the dam's turbines without human intervention would shut down within two years.