PERENNIAL PROBLEM OF EARTHEN BUND

OF WELLINGDON RESERVOIR.

ANALYSIS OF CAUSES AND REMEDIAL

MEASURES

A CASE STUDY.

By
Er. S. Muthu Parvatha Vardhini, Asst. Executive Engineer, (Designs)
Water Resources Organisation, Tamil Nadu.

Er. Amelia. Balraj, Executive Engineer, (Designs)

Water Resources Organisation, Tamil Nadu.
Willingdon
Reservoir
 HYDRAULIC PARTICULARS
384 cumecs Year of 1913 – 1923
Maximum Flood
construction
Discharge
27664 acre
R.L +72.67m Ayacut (11200
MWL
FRL hectares)
R.L +72.54m
TBL R.L +75.10m
Length of the bund 4300m
Sill level of surplus R.L +70.84m
regulator
30, Nos
No & size of vents
(3.05m
of surplus regulator
x1.7m)
Capacity of the 2580Mcft (or)
Reservoir 73.06Mm3
 ORIGINAL SECTION OF THE EARTH DAM

 Design or construction - Details not traceable.

 Techniques used - Not

 Data on the foundation strata available.

 Bund could have been

- Locally available soil

- Homogeneous
- Absence of Filter
- No foundation cutoff
 PERFORMANCE OF THE BUND
Distress noticed in the earth dam right from inception

Slippage of slope
 Sinking of Top
of bund
 Longitudinal cracks
 Flow of mud d/s of
the dam
 Upheaval on the d/s
beyond the toe
VARIOUS CAUSES ATTRIBUTED IN EARLY
YEARS AND MEASURES SUGGESTED
VARIOUS CAUSES ATTRIBUTED IN EARLY
YEARS AND MEASURES SUGGESTED
 MEASURES SUGGESTED BY DSRP
During May 1994, to 1998
-The fact referred to the DSRP (Dam Safety Review Panel) for
Tamil Nadu.
Suggestions
 Paving on the upstream slope in vulnerable reaches.
 Flatten the upstream and downstream slopes to 3:1 by
placing soil with good strength parameters, brought from a
different source over filter material (sand) with berms on the
downstream.
 A rock toe and toe drain on the downstream.
 A heel support in the form of a rock toe, of 5m or more
width on the end of the upstream slope.
 MEASURES SUGGESTED BY DSRP

Even while carrying out these measures the bund continue to slip.
 ADDITIONAL MEASURES SUGGESTED BY DSRP
DSRP suggestions during 2002,
 Relief wells on the downstream slope, upto hard strata
between the chainage 1950 and 2350 at 15m intervals with the
spacing reduced to 8m in the reach LS2200 to LS 2260m.

 To provide 1.5m deep toe drain at a distance of 8m from the

end of rock toe of the downstream slope. 6 holes of 30cm
diameter to be bored in the bed of the drain upto hard strata.
The bore holes shall be back filled with cleaned crushed stone.

To install compacted clay-quick lime columns on the

lowermost berm of the downstream slope.
 DISTRESS OBSERVED EVEN AFTER
CARRYING OUT SUGGESTIONS OF “DSRP”
 REMEDIAL MEASURES AND RESULTS

Rehabilitation measures done (1995-1996)

• Measures implemented
• Reservoir level was raised gradually.
At water level was at EL +72.60m,
• subsidence,
• longitudinal cracks
• slope slippage.
• shearing the relief wells,
• uplifting filter between the rock toe and
toe drain
• displacing the quick lime columns.
 DETAILED INVESTIGATIONS TO FIND OUT
ROOT CAUSE OF THE PROBLEM

Tests on Bund soil

Shear Parameter Undrained Drained
Condition Condition
Angle of Internal 0◦ 30◦
Friction

Bore Holes drilled- At 10m d/s of toe

@ LS1850m, LS1900m, LS 2000m, LS1200m,

LS2200m, LS 2300m, LS 2400 m and LS 2500 m
 BORE HOLE DETAILS

Soft Rock with Hard rock Weathered

Clayey Sand
lime rock
Fractured Rock Clay with lime Gravelly
and sand sand
 INFERENCES BASED UPON INVESTIGATIONS

Condition of the Embankment

 Poor quality of soil of the embankment which looses its shear
strength when partially or fully saturated with water
Hence it is not a slope stability problem but that of poor quality
of the soil and flattening the slope to ay value will not provide
a stable embankment.
Sub surface condition
 The bed soil beneath the bund had a clay layer underlain by
weathered rock and thereafter by fractured rock, hence causing
seepage of water
 CAUSES OF FAILURE
Sinking of bund upheaval
Mudflow

Clay zone
Piping uplift
Fractured rock

 Absence of cut off and high head on the upstream, caused

Seepage through the clay and fractured rock zone .
Piping near the toe.
Erosion of weathered rock and clay overlying it thus
resulting in subsidence.
 Since residual pressures are large near the toe, caused
Upheaval due to uplift.
 High uplift pressure of seepage, caused
Net downward force at the contact plane reduce resulting in
very poor shear strength almost equal to zero and mud flow
 CAUSES OF FAILURE

 Seepage through the embankment caused

Low shear strength of embankment soil subsidence
and cracking of bund

Sinking of bund
Longitudnal cracks Mudflow

Clay zone
Piping
Fractured rock

 The foundation failure accelerated by the properties

of soil of the bund which also has a very low shear
strength, has been the ultimate reason for the distress.
ONE SOLUTION TO TACKLE ALL POSSIBLE CAUSES
Going for total replacement of bund in the reach where, it is badly
affected instead of making piece meal proposals for slips and
settlements.
Formation of PARALLEL BUND in a new alignment between
LS 1700m to 2500m considering the following
 New alignment downstream of the toe of existing bund where
good foundation exists
 Treating the foundation
 Design of all components of embankment, Cutoff ,filter etc to
the present standards.
 Suitably connecting the new alignment to the exiting bund at
the ends
 Removing of existing bund in this reach.
ALIGNMENT OF NEW BUND

Centre Line of Existing Bund

Boundary of PWD Land

Existing Bund Toe

Existing Bund Heel

Proposed Bund Toe

Proposed Bund Heel

CROSS SECTION OF NEW BUND – LS 1900
 PRESENT STATUS OF BUND
Parallel Bund formed during 2009-2010
 Initially water was Impounded upto sill of regulator
 Then water raised in stages of 0.3m during inflow
 Water stored upto 71.94 (0.6m below FRL)

No evidence of distress
minimal flow observed in toe drain.
 CONCLUSION
A parallel bund designed as per present standards over a good
foundation strata was one solution to address all possible
causes.

NO DISTRESS was noticed in the reconstructed and other

portions of the earth dam AND BELIEVED that there will
be NO DISTRESS FURTHER.

TODAY THE RESERVOIR STANDS WITH A NEW

LEASE OF LIFE
THANK YOU !