The Koyna Dam is one of the largest

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 in

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. It is a rubble-concrete dam constructed on

Koyna River The Koyna River (Marathi pronunciation: oːj(ə)naː is a tributary of the Krishna River which originates in Mahableshwar, Satara district, western Maharashtra, India. It rises near Mahabaleshwar, a famous hill station in the Western Ghats. ...

which rises in

Mahabaleshwar Mahabaleshwar () is a small town and a municipal council in Satara district, Maharashtra, India. It is a place of pilgrimage for Hindus because Krishna river has its origin here. The British colonial rulers developed the town as a hill station ...

, a hillstation in Sahyadri ranges. It is located in

Koyna Nagar Koynanagar is a town in Maharashtra, India. It is situated on the Chiplun- Sangli state highway on the banks of Koyna River. The town is small but famous for Koyna Dam and the Koyna Hydroelectric Project The Koyna Hydroelectric Project is t ...

Satara district Satara district (Marathi pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, aːt̪aɾaː is a Districts of Maharashtra, district of Maharashtra state in western India with an area of and a population of 3,003,741 of which 14.17% were urban (). Satara (city), ...

, in the Western Ghats on the state highway between

Chiplun Chiplun ( ͡ʃipɭuːɳ is a city in Ratnagiri district in the state of Maharashtra, India. It is the financial and commercial Hub of Ratnagiri, and the headquarters of Chiplun taluka. It is about 320 km south of Mumbai in the Konkan ...

and

Karad Karad is a city in Satara district of Indian state of Maharashtra and it is 320 km (180.19 miles) from Mumbai and 159 km from Pune. It lies at the confluence of Koyna River and the Krishna River known as the "Priti sangam". T ...

Details

The main purpose of the dam is

hydroelectricity Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, 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 Renewabl ...

with some

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow Crop, crops, Landscape plant, landscape plants, and Lawn, lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,00 ...

in neighboring areas. Today the

Koyna Hydroelectric Project The Koyna Hydroelectric Project is the largest hydroelectricity, hydroelectric power plant in India, just after Tehri Dam Project. It is a complex project with four dams including the largest dam on the Koyna River, Maharashtra hence the name Ko ...

is the largest completed hydroelectric power plant in India having a total installed capacity of . Due to its electricity generating potential, Koyna river is considered as the 'life line of Maharashtra'. The spillway of the dam is located at the center. It has 6

radial gate The Tainter gate is a type of radial arm floodgate used in dams and canal locks to control water flow. It is named for Wisconsin structural engineer Jeremiah Burnham Tainter. A side view of a Tainter gate resembles a slice of pie with the c ...

s. The dam plays a vital role of flood controlling in

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscil ...

season. The catchment area dams the Koyna river and forms the Shivasagar Lake which is approximately in length. It is one of the largest civil engineering projects commissioned after Indian independence. The Koyna hydro-electric project is run by the

Maharashtra State Electricity Board Maharashtra State Electricity Board (or MSEB) ( Marathi:महाराष्ट्र राज्य विद्युत मंडळ) is a state government electricity regulation board operating within the state of Maharashtra in India. The ...

. The

has withstood many

earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...

s in the recent past, including the devastating

1967 Koynanagar earthquake The 1967 Koynanagar earthquake occurred near Koynanagar town in Maharashtra, India on 11 December local time. The magnitude 6.6 shock hit with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (''Severe''). It occurred near the site of Koyna dam, raising qu ...

, resulting in the dam developing some cracks. After the

disaster A disaster is a serious problem occurring over a short or long period of time that causes widespread human, material, economic or environmental loss which exceeds the ability of the affected community or society to cope using its own resources ...

grouting of the cracks was done. Also internal holes were drilled to relieve the

hydrostatic Fluid statics or hydrostatics is the branch of fluid mechanics that studies the condition of the equilibrium of a floating body and submerged body "fluids at hydrostatic equilibrium and the pressure in a fluid, or exerted by a fluid, on an imme ...

pressures in the body of the dam. Indian scientific establishment has formulated an ambitious project to drill a deep

borehole A borehole is a narrow shaft bored in the ground, either vertically or horizontally. A borehole may be constructed for many different purposes, including the extraction of water ( drilled water well and tube well), other liquids (such as petro ...

in the region and intensely study the earthquake activity. This would help in better understanding and possible forecast of earthquakes. The proposal is to drill up to 7 km and study the physical,

geological Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Eart ...

and

chemical A chemical substance is a form of matter having constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Some references add that chemical substance cannot be separated into its constituent elements by physical separation methods, i.e., wi ...

processes and properties of the

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

triggered earthquake zone in real time. It would be an international project to be led by Indian scientists. In 1973 the non-overflow portion of the dam was strengthened, followed by strengthening the

spillway A spillway is a structure used to provide the controlled release of water downstream from a dam or levee, typically into the riverbed of the dammed river itself. In the United Kingdom, they may be known as overflow channels. Spillways ensure tha ...

section in 2006. Now the dam is expected to be safe against any future earthquake, including ones with a higher intensity than that of 1967.

References

External links

*
WaterFallKoyna
{{Authority control Dams in Satara district 1964 establishments in Kerala Dams completed in 1964 Energy infrastructure completed in 1964 Hydroelectric power stations in Maharashtra Gravity dams Dams in Western Ghats

Details

See also

References

External links