Ch-3

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CHAPTER THREE

3. DAM SAFETY, INSTRUMENTATION AND SURVEILLANCE


Introduction
The primary purpose of a dam is to store water effectively and safely and therefore, its water-
retention ability is of prime importance. Seepage from a reservoir is the interstitial movement of
water through a dam, the foundation, or the abutments. It is different from leakage, which is the
flow of water through holes or cracks. Seepage and leakage through a dam should not be large
enough to erode material from inside the dam body. However, the storage reservoir created by a
dam presents a potential hazard to downstream inhabitants and property. The floodplain at risk in
case of uncontrolled breaching of a dam may be extensive, densely populated, and of considerable
economic importance. In such instances, a dam failure can result in many deaths and tremendous
economic loss.
Catastrophic failure of a dam, other than as the direct result of an extreme flood event or
earthquake, is invariably preceded by a period of progressively increasing ‘structural’ distress
within the dam and/or its foundation. Dam surveillance programs and instrumentation are intended
to detect symptoms of distress and, where possible, to relate those symptoms to specific problems
at the earliest possible stage.
The objective of this chapter is to identify parameters of primary significance to the integrity of
dams, and to outline the instrumentation and techniques employed in surveillance.

3.1 Dam Safety


The practice of ensuring the integrity and viability of dams such that they do not present
unacceptable risks to the public, property, and the environment. It also includes all actions taken
to identify or predict deficiencies and consequences related to the failure and to document,
publicize, and reduce, eliminate, or remediate to the extent reasonably possible, any unacceptable
risks.
The importance of monitoring for dam safety is widely accepted. Monitoring provides the
information that is needed to develop a better understanding of the on-going performance of the
dam during the construction, impounding and operation phases. Therefore, good dam safety
monitoring should be a key part of every dam owner’s risk management.
The most significant parameters in monitoring dam behavior are as follows:
1. Seepage and leakage (quantity, nature (e.g. turbidity), location and source);
2. Settlement and loss of freeboard in embankments (magnitude, rate);
3. External and internal deformation (magnitude, rate, location);
4. Porewater pressures and uplift (magnitude, variation);
5. Collimation (Measuring the alignment)
The purpose of a dam safety program is to recognize potential hazards and reduce them to
acceptable levels.
Dam safety practices apply to all dams. The degree of application of these practices requires
reasonable judgments based on the size of the dam and reservoir and the hazards to people and
property from failure. The safety of a dam should be accorded the highest priority throughout all

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phases of its development and use, including the planning, design, construction, and operation and
maintenance phases.
Dam safety also requires providing emergency preparedness plans, periodic safety examinations
and evaluations, and rehabilitations or modifications of existing dams.
The safe functioning of a dam is an important matter of economic benefit and public safety. Dam
safety monitoring is a common safety requirement. The long-term performance of a dam is a
necessary factor in the evaluation of dam safety. Diurnal and seasonal effects, changes in
hydrostatic pressure and related water seepage affect the health of dams. Wall deflection,
settlement and heaving, the rate of water flow, seepage, temperature, vibration, stress, strain and
other significant parameters require monitoring to detect changes in the performance of the dam.
Personnel who perform visual observations, and collect, reduce, and evaluate data, should be given
basic dam safety training. The training should include as a minimum, common causes of dam
failures and incidents, identification of signs of potential distress by visual observation, and actions
to be taken when unusual conditions, signs of potential distress, or emergency conditions occur.
The common causes of concrete dam failures and incidents are:
 Overtopping from inadequate spillway capacity or spillway blockage resulting in erosion
of the foundation at the toe of the dam or washout of an abutment or adjacent embankment
structure;
 Foundation leakage and piping in pervious strata, soluble lenses, and rock discontinuities;
and
 Sliding along weak discontinuities in foundations
The principal causes of embankment dam failures and incidents are:
 Overtopping from inadequate spillway capacity, spillway blockage, or excessive
settlement resulting in erosion of the embankment;
 Erosion of embankments from failure of spillways, failure or deformation of outlet conduits
causing leakage and piping, and failure of riprap;
 Embankment leakage and piping along outlet conduits, abutment interfaces, contacts with
concrete structures, or concentrated piping in the embankment itself;
 Foundation leakage and piping in pervious strata, soluble lenses, and rock discontinuities;
 Sliding of embankment slopes due to overly steep slopes, seepage forces, rapid drawdown,
or rainfall
 Sliding along clay seams in foundations
 Cracking due to differential settlements; and
 Liquefaction. It is a condition whereby soil undergoes continued deformation at a constant
low residual stress or with low residual resistance

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The following definitions apply to dam safety activities:-
 Existing and new dam
 Dam failure
 Maintenance
 Rehabilitation
 Hazard
 EPP ( Emergency preparedness plan)
 Dam safety deficiencies
 Inflow design flood and spillway design flood
 Probable maximum flood
 Maximum credible earth quick
Why do dams fail?
People design, build and operate them that’s why.
1. There isn't adequate site investigation (drilling, foundation mapping, etc.).
2. Mistakes are made during design (blown calculations, bad assumptions, no QC, etc.)
3. Mistakes or changes made during construction
4. Improper operation and/or poor maintenance
5. Unforeseen loading condition (changes in seismic or hydrologic loading)
6. We just can’t know everything ….

3.2 Instrumentation
3.2.1 What is instrumentation?
An arrangement of devices installed into or near dams that enable measurements that can be used
to evaluate the structural behavior and performance parameters of the structure.
Instrumentation is the use of special devices to obtain critical scientific measurements of
engineered behavior. Instrumentation of earth and rock-fill dams includes the various electrical
and mechanical devices such as piezometers, slope indicators, settlement devices, surface
movement monuments, internal vertical and horizontal movement indicators, and seismic
movement devices used to measure pressure, water flow, movement, stress, strain, and temperature
at a dam and its appurtenant structures. Whereas, Monitoring is the collection, reduction,
presentation, and evaluation of the instrumentation data.
The purpose of instrumentation and monitoring is to maintain and improve dam safety by
providing information to 1) evaluate whether a dam is performing as expected and 2) Warn of
changes that could endanger the safety of a dam.
There are many reasons for installing instrumentation in both new and existing dams. Each dam is
a unique situation and requires an individual solution for its instrumentation requirements. The
fact that some existing dams have only minimal or no instrumentation at all is not an adequate
reason for installing instrumentation. Nevertheless, effective instrumentation can play a vital role
in the ongoing assessment of a dam's performance, can provide valuable information concerning
the safety of the dam, and can help to improve dam design in the future.
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A typical instrument arrangement consists of one or more of three basic elements.
 A sensor;
 A signal conducting media; and
 A readout/recorder
Instruments may operate mechanically, optically, electrically, or via pneumatic or hydraulic
principles. Instruments must be carefully selected, located, and installed. Instrumentation and
monitoring must be carefully planned and executed to meet defined objectives. Every instrument
in a dam should have a specific purpose. If it does not have a specific purpose, it should not be
installed or it should be abandoned. Instrumentation for long-term monitoring should be rugged
and easy to maintain and should be capable of being verified or calibrated.
Instrumentation typically provides data to:
 Characterize site conditions before construction
 Verify Design and analysis assumptions;
 Evaluate behavior during construction, first filling, and operation of the structure;
 Evaluate performance of specific design features;
 Observe performance of known geological and structural anomalies; and
 Evaluate performance with respect to potential site-specific failure modes.

Suites of instruments may, for convenience, be classified according to the primary function of the
installation:-
1. Construction control: verification of critical design parameters with immediate looped feedback
to design and construction.
2. Post-construction performance: validation of design; determination of initial or datum
behavioral pattern.
3. Service performance/surveillance: reassurance of structural adequacy; detection of regressive
change in established behavioral pattern; investigation of identified or suspected problems.
4. Research/development: academic research; equipment proving and development.

3.2.2 Purpose of Instrumentation


The primary purpose of instrumentation is to supply data to aid in evaluating the safety of a
structure by collecting quantitative data on its performance and by detecting problems at an early
and preventable stage.
A secondary purpose is to enable comparison of actual behavior with predicted behavior, which
verifies design adequacy and helps gather useful information for refining the design of similar
structures in the future.
Instrumentation data can detect unusual changes or trends (such as fluctuations in water pressure)
that are not visible. In other cases, gradual progressive changes (e.g., slow seepage flow increases)
that might go unnoticed visually can be detected by monitoring on a regular basis. This control
can warn of the development of a serious problem.

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Proper monitoring is an imperative task in evaluating the performance of a dam. The frequency of
monitoring depends upon applicable regulatory requirements and other factors, including:-
 the hazard to life and property that the dam presents;
 the height or size of the dam;
 the volume of water impounded by the dam;
 the seismic risk at the site;
 the age or condition of the dam;
 the frequency and amount of water level fluctuation in the reservoir; and
 the history of problems or abnormal behavior at the dam.
There are several kinds of instruments available to measure physical parameters needed to evaluate
dam safety and performance. Because every instrument is designed to measure specific physical
properties, instruments are grouped by the parameters that they monitor.
The basic physical parameters that are most important in assessing the safety and performance of
both embankment and concrete/masonry dams are as follows:
 Water pressure, seepage and leakage, movement,
 Reservoir water level and tail water elevations, and weather conditions.
 Other physical data that are important include: local seismic activity, stress and strain, and
temperature.
Each dam is unique. Type and nature of the dam decides the number of instruments to be used and
at what locations they are to be embedded in the dam
3.2.3 Need for Instrumentation
Every structure creates certain risks, and dams are no exception. Most dam failures that have
occurred could have been avoided if the structure's behavior had been inspected, monitored, and
analyzed continuously, and proper corrective measures had been taken in a timely fashion.
Structural displacements, deformations, settlements, seepages, the piezometric pressure within the
structure and its foundation are items that are the focus of a monitoring system. Seismic or
microseismic vibrations from operation, maintenance work, and construction activity may cause
damage such as cracking of the structure or liquefaction of the dam foundation.
There are many reasons for installing instrumentation in both new and existing dams. Each dam is
a unique situation and requires an individual solution for its instrumentation requirements. The
fact that some existing dams have only minimal or no instrumentation at all is not an adequate
reason for installing instrumentation. Nevertheless, effective instrumentation can play a vital role
in the ongoing assessment of a dam's performance, can provide valuable information
concerning the safety of the dam, and can help to improve dam design in the future.

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3.3 Surveillance
Dams of all types require regular surveillance if they are to be maintained in a safe and
operationally efficient state. As with all structures, they are subject to a degree of long-term but
progressive deterioration.
The primary objective of a surveillance programme is to minimize the possibility of catastrophic
failure of the dam by the timely detection of design inadequacies or regressive changes in behavior.
A further objective is to assist in the scheduling of routine maintenance or, when necessary, of
major remedial works.
Surveillance embraces the regular and frequent observation and recording of all aspects of the
service performance of a dam and its reservoir. It includes routine observation and inspection, the
monitoring and assessment of seepage and instrumentation data and the recording of all other
relevant information, including hydrological records. Routine inspection should cover all readily
accessible parts of the dam and of its associated components (e.g. spillways, gates, valves and
outlet works). Visual inspection should also extend to the area downstream of the dam, including
the mitres and abutments, and to any parts of the reservoir perimeter designated as requiring
observation.
A more rigorous assessment of reservoir hazard and associated risks has the potential to
significantly enhance the effectiveness of dam surveillance programmes. In particular, reservoir
risk assessment can be a valuable aid in ranking priorities for the allocation of limited resources
available for remedial work or for optimizing surveillance. A lot of surveillance instruments are
available that are intended for embedding in the body of concrete dams. These instruments are
continuously or regularly developed and improved.

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