2005 – Use of Risk Based Design Validation for Justification of the Ross River Dam Upgrades
The Ross River Dam, designed in the early seventies, does not meet current dam safety criteria for overtopping and piping within the embankment or the foundation. The dam comprises a 40m long concrete overflow spillway flanked by a central core rockfill embankment of 130 m on the right bank and 170m on the left bank with a 7620 m long left bank earth fill embankment, which has no internal filter zones for piping protection. The embankment was extensively assessed and treated forfoundation deficiencies in 1982, and further assessed in 20002002 for appropriate upgrade options.
This paper describes the process of validation of the detailed design using Risk Based Design Criteria. This process included data mining for historical performance and original design intention,
comparison of the original design against current and historical investigations and assessment of the upgrades using the large volume of data available from previous work. A design team comprising specialist hydrologists, hydrogeologists, geologists, geotechnical and dams engineers worked within a risk assessment framework at all stages of the design to ensure the design was validated using the design Validation Model. This process incorporated assessment of crest level based on flood risk and wave overtopping, review of 2D and 3D seepage models to assess piping and foundation erosion potential, assessment of fissured soils within the embankment foundation for structural stability and evaluation of spillway model testing for potential spillway failure modes.
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Papers 2005
2005 – THE EXTREMES OF TROPICAL HYDROLOGY
Learn moreThis paper presents a number of innovative hydrologic investigations undertaken for the recent
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detailed design of upgrades for Ross River Dam in North Queensland. A key issue for estimating
extreme floods in the tropics is the estimation of flood events of long critical durations. The
implication is that there is an increased focus on estimating the correct volume (not only the peak
flow). This paper describes the regional analysis of flow volumes that was used to validate the
estimated flood volumes.
Another issue of considerable importance is the assumed relationship between inflows and initial
reservoir level. The analyses described in this paper showed that inflows are independent of reservoir levels for the more frequent events but for more extreme events they are correlated. This has important implication on how the initial reservoir level is incorporated in the hydrologic analysis. The final aspect covered by the paper is the derivation of seasonal flood frequency curves. This is particularly important given the highly seasonal nature of rainfalls in the tropics and the results are important for assessing risks during construction and scheduling the upgrade works. -
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Papers 2005
2005 – Prioritising Spillway Upgrades – A Queensland Way
Learn moreKeith Ehm
SunWater has completed a portfolio risk assessment(PRA) on its 25 major dams and has identified a number of dams that do not currently satisfy the ANCOLD fallback position on spillway capacity. It has taken an initiative to target these dams for spillway upgrades to ultimately achieve the ANCOLD fallback standard and has prioritised these upgrades in a preliminary program for action in the short to medium term.
As background to this PRA, SunWater has developed and implemented a dam safety program which has successfully updated all necessary flood hydrology and dam break analyses and reassessed the consequences and hazards associated with dam failures. It has also completed within the last eight years, dam safety reviews on all its dams in preparation for a comprehensive risk assessment process which is now well in-hand. This process will identify and evaluate all other risks, in addition to floods,that should be addressed or at least considered in the planning and design of these spillway capacity upgrades.
This paper describes SunWater’s experience and approach to PRA and discusses the controlling factors considered in prioritisation. It shows the results and trends of a number of risk ranking methods, provides details of the current level of societal risks in respect of the ANCOLD tolerability limits and outlines SunWater’s current strategy for the timing and staging of spillway upgrades to achieve compliance and an optimum level of risk reduction.
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Papers 2005
2005 – The Extremes of Tropical Hydrology
Learn morePeter Hill, Kristen Sih, Rory Nathan, Phillip Jordan
This paper presents a number of innovative hydrologic investigations undertaken for the recent detailed design of upgrades for Ross River Dam in North Queensland. A key issue for estimating extreme floods in the tropics is the estimation of flood events of long critical durations. The implication is that there is an increased focus on estimating the correct volume (not only the peakflow). This paper describes the regional analysis of flow volumes that was used to validate the estimated flood volumes.
Another issue of considerable importance is the assumed relationship between inflows and initial reservoir level. The analyses described in this paper showed that inflows are independent of reservoir levels for the more frequent events but for more extreme events they are correlated. This has important implication on how the initial reservoir level is incorporated in the hydrologic analysis. The final aspect covered by the paper is the derivation of seasonal flood frequency curves. This is particularly important given the highly seasonal nature of rainfalls in the tropics and the results are important for assessing risks during construction and scheduling the upgrade works
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Papers 2005
2005 – RISK MANAGEMENT − PUBLIC POLICY VS CORPORATE LIABILITY
Learn moreThis paper relates to the conference sub-themes of Dam Safety Upgrades – Management of
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Risk and Due Diligence and Dam Construction.
Specifically, it relates to the changing willingness of governments to fund risk reduction in
dams compared with risk reduction in other areas.
The cost of dam safety upgrades is just one of a portfolio of risk reduction strategies
affecting the general community that governments are required to underwrite.
This paper examines the variation in acceptable risk standards between dam safety and
other areas. This may be explained in terms of what is acceptable to the community and the
courts. For instance, a corporation is likely to attempt to minimise its liability (which may
differ to minimising risk for the community). We also examine:
• a portfolio approach to safety expenditure and the implicit cost-benefit relationship;
• the impact of the asymmetric relationship between expenditure and absolute size of
potential loss; and
• the importance of a whole-of-government approach and reviewing apparent
inconsistencies in approach to risk.
There is an increasingly well-established literature on the value of a human life and
increasingly systematic approaches to the evaluation of risk and the setting of risk
standards. Risk standards are particularly explicit in the area of dam safety – they set limits
of tolerable risks for large-scale loss of life (eg. for existing dams, a loss of life of more than
10 persons with a probability of more than one in a ten thousand per annum is regarded as
unacceptable under the Australian guidelines).
However, there are significant contrasts in what is tolerated as acceptable risk between
different areas of government activity. To date, there appears to be no systematic evaluation
of the portfolio of risks or a common view on what is acceptable levels. -
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Papers 2005
2005 – The Smart Guide to Operations and Maintenance Manuals
Learn moreNicola Woolford, Paul Southcott, Roy Fenderson, Emma Birch
Changes to the Regulatory and legal environment have resulted in an increased focus on the importance of proficient management of dams. Operation and maintenance manuals are now a Regulatory requirement in Tasmania for all but very low hazard dams and are also required to ensure that dams are managed efficiently and safely. To meet these requirements Hydro Tasmania has developed the ‘Smart’ operations and maintenance manual.
Hydro Tasmania has a large portfolio of dams andas a result requires a large number of operations and maintenance manuals. This would result in an overwhelming array of information that is subject to evolving change if the traditional approach to the manual was adopted.
To overcome this burden, a controlled electronic manual was developed to enable:
- Critical operation and maintenance information to be collated with minimal effort;
- Electronic hyperlinks to key existing operation and maintenance documents, reference materials, and portals into operational data bases; and
- A means of updating and controlling information that is subject to change.
This paper will discuss how Hydro Tasmania developed its user-friendly operation and maintenance manuals in an innovative, unique and controlled manner to ensure prudent management of dams and to comply with Regulatory change.
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