1999 – Working with Safe Dams
Norm Robins
A strategy designed to ensure that an existing dam continues to perform effectively will include:
- a set of operating instructions.
- maintenance of the reservoir components.
- an ongoing review of structural performance.
- a system to indicate the appropriate application of resources.
- the ability to respond to an incident.
This paper will explore each of these issues and how they may be applied to dams in a variety of situations. These situations include water supply reservoirs, flood retarding basins, levees and wastewater lagoons. While each situation is different, the underlying principles will remain consistent. The range of situations encountered by Victorian Water Authorities provides the inspiration for the development of an efficient approach to the management of the safety of dams.
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Papers 1999
1999 – Remedial Works in Cotter Dam and the Risk to there from Floods.
Learn moreJavad 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.
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Papers 1999
1999 – World Commission on Dams
Learn moreDr Judy Henderson
Against a background of several decades of increasingly polarised and acrimonious debate, the World Commission on Dams (WCD) was established in 1998 with a two year mandate to review the development effectiveness of dams, assess alternatives for water resources and energy development and develop internationally acceptable criteria and guidelines for future decision- making. This report discusses the role of large dams in development and the challenges of water resource management in the future. T the work program of the WCD is outlined and progress to date on fulfilling its mandate.
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Papers 1999
1999 – Recent Practices in the Construction of Roller Compacted Concrete Dams
Learn moreRobert J. Parker
This paper examines the current trends in the construction of Roller Compacted Concrete Dams in Australia and Internationally. Certain recent trends to processes such as grout enriched vibratable RCC will assist both the cost effectiveness and simplicity of this type of dam construction. Key issues considered are: I. The trend is to use less conventional concrete in the structure and grout enriched RCC against contact surfaces are the means of achieving this. 2. Proportionally greater use is being made of high paste mixes 3. In order to maximise placing rates, keep it simple 4. Aggregates should be manufactured in not less than three sizes and preferably four if segregation is to be controlled
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Papers 1999
1999 – Judged Values and Value Judgements in Dam Risk Assessment – A Personal Perspective
Learn moreD.N.D. Hartford
The role of judgement in risk assessments as applied in dam safety management has been the source of considerable debate in recent years. With regard to risk analysis of dams, and while there is general agreement that judgement is an essential element of the process, essentially two schools of thought have emerged. One view holds that, in the assignment of probabilities, reliance can be based on collective engineering judgement that is anchored to a knowledge base. The second view holds that judgement should be based on the knowledge that is revealed by an appropriate amount of analysis. The paper, written from the perspective of the latter view, explores some of the underlying issues in this debate.
The role of judgement in risk evaluation, the process of judging the significance of risk, is considered to be equally important. However, the process of making value judgements and statements of principles is complex and often beyond the sphere of engineering. The third issue addressed in the paper concerns the search for answers to the question, “How good is the assessment?”
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Papers 1999
1999 – Small Dams, Big Issues
Learn moreRobert E Saunders
The vast majority of dams in Australia are relatively small affairs. For example, approximately 90% of Queensland’ referable dams are less than 15 m in height. Most of these dams are owned by small communities, mining companies or farmers, many of which have smaller operations than those of Australia’s larger dam owners. In many cases the dam represents the owner’s sole source of water supply.
Many smaller dam owners are unaware of the key factors affecting the safety and best management of their facilities. Added to this is a general lack of understanding of dam related issues by the community at large. This often leads to significant owner and community concerns (and conflicts) that have the potential to jeopardise the viability, or worse, the safety of a project. The relative importance of the dam to the smaller dam owner often exacerbates these issues.
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This paper serves to illustrate, by way of example, a consultant’s viewpoint of some of the issues encountered on small dam projects and suggests actions that the dams industry as whole could take to improve the situation.