2010 – How to build a dam – just ask the community?
Cat McConkey, Zarmina Nasir, Rachel Caoil
The Enlarged Cotter Dam (ECD) is the first major project to be assessed and approved under the new planning regime in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). ACTEW chose the ECD as its highest priority option in securing Canberra’s water supply for the future because of its relative economic benefit to the community, reliability of water supply, technical feasibility and comparatively low environmental impact.
The planning and construction of large dams has been reduced from a typical 10 plus years to four years in the ACT and surrounds for the ECD. Australian and International Dam design and construction has significantly developed from a time when dam approvals focused on engineering, economics and constructability to now include regulatory planning processes that seek to reconcile environmental, social and economic impacts.
This paper explores and contrasts the experience of securing approvals for the ECD in 2009 to past experiences of dam planning approvals and consultation processes.
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2011 – Cultural Change – A Mechanical Perspective on Dam Safety Management
Learn moreGeorge Bolliger and Clare Bales
Traditionally, the dams engineering profession has been a career path for engineers of civil/structural or geotechnical persuasion. As dams are constructed there is understandably a predominate focus on the civil requirements. Beyond the first few years of the dam’s life, effective operation and maintenance becomes increasingly important. A number of mechanical/electrical components and plant items form part of the critical infrastructure of the dam. A good maintenance routine is an essential requirement of the dam safety management program.
State Water Corporation, as the owner of 20 large dams and over 280 weir and regulator structures, runs a dam safety management program that is in line with the Australian National Committee on Large Dams Guidelines and NSW Dams Safety Committee requirements. The maintenance procedures and outcomes are audited through an internal maintenance audit program.
The maintenance audits form an integral part of the total asset management plan as well as the dam safety program. They are used to identify areas of strength as well as common errors or defects. Using State Water’s internal maintenance audits as case studies, the paper elaborates the role of maintenance audit program in enabling a cultural change to further include mechanical/electrical aspects and thereby enhance the longevity and safety of the assets.
Cultural Change – A Mechanical Perspective on Dam Safety Management
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2011 – The Recent Developments and Application of Large Ground Anchors for Dams
Learn moreMark R. Sinclair & Richard J. Rodd
Over the last six years there have been ongoing significant developments in the design, fabrication and particularly of the corrosion protection details for high capacity ( >13,500kN MBL ) re-stressable ground anchors used to improve stability of gravity dams. These Australian based developments and the resultant specifications and details have now become the de-facto standards adopted.
The ANCOLD Register dams to have had this generation of cables installed have included; Ross River Dam, Lake Manchester Dam, Catagunya Dam, Tinaroo Falls Dam and Wellington Dam. These projects include the highest capacity permanent ground anchors installed to date worldwide. Some smaller capacity anchors installed into dams have also benefited from this technology.
The Recent Developments and Application of Large Ground Anchors for
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2011 – Searching for Solutions to ASR
Learn moreBob Wark, Louise Thomas, Andrew Peek
Alkali Silica Reaction (ASR) has been by far the dominant cause identified in the deterioration of concrete caused by expansion of the pastes from an interaction with the aggregates. However the path to the identification of the presence of the deleterious effects of ASR is not always straightforward. In a recent example, the concrete spillway slabs and walls at South Dandalup Dam exhibited classic craze cracking symptoms of ASR. However when subjected to more detailed analysis the driving process was found to be delayed ettringite formation (DEF).
ASR and DEF are chemically different concrete deterioration mechanisms with physically similar manifestation, causing slow concrete expansion in the presence of moisture. ASR has been reported mostly in concrete structures constructed prior to the early 90’s when the DEF deterioration mechanism was not fully recognised. However it is possible that ASR and DEF can take place simultaneously and more extensive damage due to DEF could have occurred and remain undetected.
The paper will also describe a recent case using basalt aggregate for Stirling Dam in which the use of an accelerated mortar bar test gave an extreme reaction but the ASTM concrete prism expansion test gave a negative result. Further detailed petrographic examination provided the clues to the real cause.
The paper will describe the occurrence of the problems, compare the causes and outline the methods undertaken to investigate the issues. Alternative concrete mix designs, incorporating a high flyash content to replace ordinary Portland cement as the main pozzolanic material, have been investigated and successfully implemented. This paper describes the investigations undertaken to develop these alternate mixes, the resultant properties of the concrete and its resistance to deterioration.
2011 – Searching for Solutions to ASR
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2011 – A Statewide Approach to Benchmarking Dam Safety Risk and Continuous Improvement
Learn moreSusan Ryanand Siraj Perera
This paper describes the benefits of the statewide risk reporting framework used in dam safety regulation in Victoria and its ongoing development. Key to this approach is a web-hosted reporting system and benchmarking process, established by the Department of Sustainability and Environment in collaboration with the Victorian water industry. This is the first time that such an approach has been used in Australia for publicly owned dams.
Sector-wide reporting on dam safety is central to the objective-based approach used by the Department in the governance and regulation of the water industry. Water corporations submit detailed annual reports on dam safety status. This incorporates ‘self assessment’ against performance criteria based on ANCOLD risk and dam safety management guidelines. These are collated to produce a statewide report of industry-wide results on the progress of dam safety management programs. This benchmarking process is providing a driver for on-going improvement and proving to be an effective tool for regulation of publicly owned dams.
The reporting framework has significantly advanced the understanding of dam safety risk across the water sector, with outputs easily understood by both dam safety practitioners and decision makers. It has improved monitoring and trend analysis of risk management practices, and is informing policy development on demonstration of the ALARP principle and decision-making about appropriate long-term dam safety levels.
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