1999 – Remedial Works in Cotter Dam and the Risk to there from Floods.

Javad Tabatabaei! and Christopher Zoppou

Cotter Dam was constructed in 1912 to 19m and was raised to 31m in 1949. Due to its close proximity to a popular recreational resort, it is considered as a high hazard dam. It forms a storage with a capacity of only 4500ML and receives flows from a catchment area of 482km?. Concern about the ageing and structural integrity of Cotter Dam was expressed as early as 1967. There has also been a major revision of the Probable Maximum Flood (PMF) and new earthquake requirements for the dam. All these factors have contributed to the decision to undertake remedial works on the dam. The remedial work could be interrupted by flows over the spillway. This would increase the cost of the works because the construction equipment must be removed and reinstated (de/remobilisation) when there are flows over the spillway. Additional costs are also incurred for each day the construction equipment remains idle (standby). The total tender price therefore includes the cost associated with the remedial work as well as any standby and de/remobolisations. Risk analysis was used to establish the frequency the reservoir water level exceeds the spillway level. The risk analysis was used to select the successful remedial works tender.