Dam safety systems are used to monitor the state of
dam
A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...
s, including external physical threats to the dams, and issuing emergency warnings at various degrees of automation. This includes the use of
differential GPS
Differential Global Positioning Systems (DGPSs) supplement and enhance the positional data available from global navigation satellite systems (GNSSs). A DGPS for GPS can increase accuracy by about a thousandfold, from approximately to .
DGPSs c ...
and
SAR remote sensing to monitor the
risk
In simple terms, risk is the possibility of something bad happening. Risk involves uncertainty about the effects/implications of an activity with respect to something that humans value (such as health, well-being, wealth, property or the environme ...
s imposed by
landslide
Landslides, also known as landslips, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, deep-seated grade (slope), slope failures, mudflows, and debris flows. Landslides occur in a variety of ...
s and
subsidence
Subsidence is a general term for downward vertical movement of the Earth's surface, which can be caused by both natural processes and human activities. Subsidence involves little or no horizontal movement, which distinguishes it from slope move ...
. For large dams,
seismograph
A seismometer is an instrument that responds to ground noises and shaking such as caused by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and explosions. They are usually combined with a timing device and a recording device to form a seismograph. The output ...
s are used to detect
reservoir-induced seismicity
Induced seismicity is typically minor earthquakes and tremors that are caused by human activity that alters the stresses and strains on Earth's crust. Most induced seismicity is of a low magnitude. A few sites regularly have larger quakes, such a ...
that could threaten the stability of the dam. The output of these systems can
provide warning to the local population ahead of a potential collapse.
Particular applications
Ukraine
The monitoring and warning system safeguarding the
Kiev Reservoir
The Kyiv Cistern ( uk, Київське водосховище, translit=Kyyivs’ke vodoskhovyshche), locally the Kyiv Sea, is a large water reservoir located on the Dnieper River in Ukraine. Named after the city of Kyiv, which lies to the sout ...
dam is complicated enough to include protection from a
space object impact.
Italy
The dam monitoring system of Enel green Power in the Riolunato Dam controls all of the dam's important parameters.
Optical and physical alignment systems are installed to control any movement of the land under and around the dam.
The dam monitoring system checks the level of the water because this creates different pressures on the dam, also in relation to the air and water temperature.
All these parameters are controlled and compared with the deformation and stress applied on the structure of the dam, measured with extensimeter, pendulum, reverse pendulum, piezometer, etc.
The dam monitoring system continuously stores and analyzes all the dam parameters, creating 5 typologies of alarms.
The dam monitoring system sets different levels of alarms corresponding to specific risks, like a reduction of lake water levels, and communicates risks with a network of all dam control systems.
When the level of risk increases, the monitoring system activates alarms to close roads or bridges, and eventually alerts people living in nearby villages.
All data is continuously sent from the dam monitoring system to the network dam control system, where specialist engineers can make decisions regarding the emergency situation.
The Riolunato dam monitoring local system software is developed from AuCo Solutions.
United States
Dam safety systems became a focus of multi-agency regulations during the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
, colors =
, anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day)
, battles =
, battles_label = Wars
, website =
, commander1 = ...
construction of large
flood control
Flood control methods are used to reduce or prevent the detrimental effects of flood waters."Flood Control", MSN Encarta, 2008 (see below: Further reading). Flood relief methods are used to reduce the effects of flood waters or high water level ...
and
hydro-electric
Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined an ...
power generation projects. To help benchmark proven practices, the Association of State Dam Safety Officials (ASDSO) formed a national
non-profit organization
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
of state and federal dam safety regulators, dam owners and operators, engineering consultants, manufacturers and suppliers, academia, contractors and others interested in dams safety. More recently public safety concerns were addressed by the
Indian Dams Safety Act of 1992
Indian or Indians may refer to:
Peoples South Asia
* Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor
** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country
* South Asia ...
during hearings before the Select Committee on Indian Affairs,
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
, 102nd Congress, second session, on S. 2617. The purpose was to provide for the maintenance of dams located on Indian lands in
New Mexico
)
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, seat = Santa Fe
, LargestCity = Albuquerque
, LargestMetro = Tiguex
, OfficialLang = None
, Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...
by the
Bureau of Indian Affairs
The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), also known as Indian Affairs (IA), is a United States federal agency within the Department of the Interior. It is responsible for implementing federal laws and policies related to American Indians and A ...
through contracts with the Indian tribes. (August 4, 1992 in Washington, D.C.)
The ASDSO Conference Proceedings paper by Gary R. Holtzhausen (1991) describes the effective use of
tiltmeter
A tiltmeter is a sensitive inclinometer designed to measure very small changes from the vertical level, either on the ground or in structures. Tiltmeters are used extensively for monitoring volcanoes, the response of dams to filling, the small ...
s with
remote sensing
Remote sensing is the acquisition of information about an object or phenomenon without making physical contact with the object, in contrast to in situ or on-site observation. The term is applied especially to acquiring information about Earth ...
to provide reliable low-cost early warning of impending structural failures.
The ASDSO Conference Proceedings paper by Barry K. Meyers (2002) describes two case studies using failure modes analysis together with a variety of automated instrumentation to provide early warnings at White River Project owned by Puget Sound Energy as well as a case study of the Silver Creek Dam near Silverton OR.
See also
*
Threat of the Dnieper reservoirs
A threat is a communication of intent to inflict harm or loss on another person. Intimidation is a tactic used between conflicting parties to make the other timid or psychologically insecure for coercion or control. The act of intimidation for c ...
*
Operation Chastise
Operation Chastise or commonly known as the Dambusters Raid was an attack on German dams carried out on the night of 16/17 May 1943 by 617 Squadron RAF Bomber Command, later called the Dam Busters, using special "bouncing bombs" developed by ...
*
Expert system
In artificial intelligence, an expert system is a computer system emulating the decision-making ability of a human expert.
Expert systems are designed to solve complex problems by reasoning through bodies of knowledge, represented mainly as if ...
*
Reservoir safety
References
Further reading
* Association of State Dam Safety Officials (ASDSO) 1991 Annual Conference Proceedings: 29 September - 2 October 1991 at San Diego, California. Holzhausen, Gary R. - Applied Geomechanics, Inc. ''Low-Cost, Automated Detection of Precursors to Dam Failure:
Coolidge Dam
The Coolidge Dam is a reinforced concrete multiple dome and buttress dam southeast of Globe, Arizona on the Gila River. Built between 1924 and 1928, the Coolidge Dam was part of the San Carlos Irrigation Project. Coolidge Dam was named after ...
,
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
'' (pp. 281–284)
* Dam Safety: Know the Potenatial Hazards (
Federal Emergency Management Agency
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), initially created under President Jimmy Carter by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and implemented by two Exec ...
Booklet L152 / Sept 1989)
* ''Federal Guidelines for Dam Safety'' - June 25,] 1979 (GPO: 041-001-00187-5)
* Guidelines for Instrumentation and Measurements for Monitoring Dam Performance, American Society of Civil Engineers, 2000, 712 pages, .
External links
ASDSO Association of Dam Safety Officials
DamSafety Commercial comprehensive approach to Dam Safety
Dam Smart Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) solutions
Earth Won''International Commission on Large Dams''
MCEER Multidisciplinary Center for
Earthquake engineering research, Earthquake Engineering Research
MoDNR Natural Disaster Resources (14 December 2005 Dam Failure)
of Missouri's Dam Safety Law
Dam Anchor Cable Fault Detection{dead link, date=January 2018 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes
Geomation, Inc. Automated Systems and Telemetry for Dam Safety Monitoring
Disaster preparedness
Emergency Alert System
Dams