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 ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , 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.

References

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
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Geomation, Inc.
Automated Systems and Telemetry for Dam Safety Monitoring Disaster preparedness Emergency Alert System Dams