Historic dam failures and recent incidents

Tracey Williamson
Associate Director | Water (Dams & Reservoirs)
British Dam Society Chairman

1
 Agenda
1. Dams in all their beauty
2. Hazards associated with dams
3. History of dam failures around the world & in the UK
4. Links to UK dam safety legislation & guidance
5. Recent ‘near misses’ & incidents

2
 3

3
4
 Hazards and dam failure modes
Overtopping

Internal erosion Instability

7
 Hazards and dam failure modes

Foundation failure &

appurtenant works failure

8
 Hazards and dam failure modes

Spillway failure

9
 History of dam failures around the world
Dam Dam Country Height Reservoir Date Failure Deaths
type (m) volume built Date Type
(106 m3)
Vega de Tera CMB Spain 34 7.8 1957 1959 SF 144
Malpasset CA France 66 22 1954 1959 FF 421
Vaiont CA Italy 265 150 1960 1963 L 2600
Baldwin Hills Emb USA 71 1.1 1951 1963 IE 5
Frias Emb Argentina 15 0.2 1940 1970 OF >42
Teton Emb USA 93 356 1975 1976 IE 14
Machhu II Emb India 26 100 1972 1979 OF 2000
Bagauda Emb Nigeria 20 0.7 1970 1988 OF 50
Belci Emb Romania 18 13 1962 1991 OF 25
Gouhou Emb China 71 3 1989 1993 IE 400
Zeizoun Emb Syria 42 71 1996 2002 OF 20
Shakidor Emb Pakistan -- -- 2003 2005 OF >135
Situ Gintung Emb Indonesia 16 2 1933 2009 IE 100
Dam type: CA = concrete arch, CMB = concrete and masonry buttress, Emb = embankment.
Type of failure: IE = internal erosion, FF = foundation failure, OF = overtopping during flood,
SF = structural failure on first filling, L = landslide into the reservoir causing overtopping

10
 History of dam failures around the world
Malpasset arch dam failure in France in 1959 (421 deaths)
The causes: High uplift pressures following heavy rainfall & a
weakness in the left abutment rock
Lessons learnt:
Appropriate SI
and assessment
by experts in all
areas of dam
design

11
 History of dam failures around the world
Vaiont dam overtopping incident in Italy in 1963 (2600 deaths)
The causes:
Instability of
reservoir slopes
causing a landslip
& 125m high
wave over the dam
Lessons learnt:
Measure pore
water pressures &
movements at
depth as well as at
the surface

12
 History of dam failures in the UK
Dam Height Reservoir Date Failure Deaths
(m) volume built Date Type
(103 m3)
Tunnel End 9 1798 1799 OF 1
Diggle Moss (Black Moss) 1810 1810 OF 6
Whinhill 12 262 1828 1835 IE 31
Brent (Welsh Harp) 7 1837 1841 OF 2
Glanderston 1842 OF 8
Bold Venture (Darwen) 10 20 1844 1848 OF 12
Bilberry 29 310 1845 1852 IE 81
Dale Dyke 29 3,240 1863 1864 IE 244
Cwm Carne 12 90 1792 1875 OF 12
Castle Malgwyn 1875 OF 2
Clydach Vale 1910 OF 5
Skelmorlie 5 24 1861 1925 OF 5
Eigiau & 10 4,500 1911 1925 FF
16
Coedty 11 320 1924 1925 OF
Type of failure: IE = internal erosion, FF = foundation failure, OF = overtopping during flood

13
 History of dam failures in the UK
Dale Dyke dam breach in 1864 (244 deaths)
The causes: Internal erosion possibly caused by hydraulic fracture
of the core
Lessons learnt:
Designs include
wider cores, use
of cohesive &
compacted fill
and placing
pipes in tunnels
through natural
ground

14
 Links to UK dam safety legislation & guidance

Dam failures Developments in legislation & guidance

Dale Dyke 1864: Designs include specifications for fill to be
(244 dead) in worked in layers not exceeding 0.23m
1864 1872: Tunnels driven through natural ground
Upstream valve control on pipes through dams

Incidents of 1876: First use of concrete cut-off trenches

leaks through 1879: First use of grouting to seal foundations
foundations in
the 1870s 1882: Vyrnwy dam designed with a drainage
tunnel network to reduce uplift pressures

15
 History of dam failures in the UK
Eigiau & Coedty dam failures in 1925 (16 deaths)
The causes: Foundation failure of Eigiau & overtopping failure
of Coedty
Eigiau dam failure
Lessons learnt:
Dams need to
be designed,
supervised and
inspected by
qualified
engineers

16
 Coedty dam failure

Devastation in
Dolgarrog 1925

17
 Links to UK dam safety legislation & guidance
Dam failures Developments in legislation & guidance
Skelmorie (5 dead) 1930: Reservoirs (Safety Provisions) Act –
& Dolgarrog (16 periodic inspection by a qualified engineer
dead) in 1925 became mandatory
Major slips at 3 1937: Soil mechanics used in designs for the
dams during 1937 first time
due to high pore 1940s: Berms added to designs to stabilise
pressures caused slopes
by faster
construction rates 1955: Drainage blankets & instrumentation
included in designs to control construction
pore pressure

18
 Recent ‘near misses’ & dam incidents
• Since 1925, no loss of life due to dam disasters in the UK
• However, dams have breached & many recent ‘near misses’
• Average age of dams in the UK is 115 years
• How will weather extremes impact potential failure modes of
the UK’s ageing stock of reservoirs?

19
 Recent dam failure with no loss of life
Warmwithens dam
failure in 1970
The causes: Internal
erosion along the line
of a new tunnel
Lessons learnt:
Tunnelling works
through embankment
dams need to be
carefully designed in
terms of understanding
changes to stresses &
stability.

20
 Links to UK dam safety legislation & guidance

Dam failures Developments in legislation &

guidance
Incidents at Lluest Wen 1975: Reservoirs Act 1975
in 1969 and 1978: Publication of “Floods and
Warmwithens in 1970 Reservoirs Safety”

Construction failure of 1986: Reservoirs Act 1975 implemented

Carsington dam in 1984 – New roles for enforcement,
supervision & ‘undertakers’
1990s: Publication of further guidance
on embankment dams

21
 Recent ‘near misses’ & dam incidents
Ulley dam spillway failure in 2007
The causes: Masonry blocks plucked out due to turbulence.
Overtopping of the spillway walls.

Lessons learnt:
Spillway designs to
ensure sufficient
capacity so flows are
discharged safely
away from the dam

22
 Links to UK dam safety legislation & guidance

Dam failures Developments in legislation & guidance

Failure of stepped 2007: Post-incident reporting system
masonry spillway at established
Boltby dam in 2005 2008: The Pitt Report
and Ulley in 2007
2010: Floods and Water Management Act
2010: Guide on design of masonry
stepped spillways

23
 Recent ‘near misses’ & dam incidents Uplift
Rhymney Bridge spillway failure pressure
forces 6t
Plucking of Erosion slabs to
bricks as water beneath fracture
flows at high the slabs
velocity

24
 Repairs commenced immediately in difficult weather conditions

25
 24hr working using rapid set concrete

26
 High volume pumps to assist with emergency draw down
Careful management of the res levels to avoid rapid draw down

27
 Preparations made for an auxiliary spillway as a precaution
CCTV patched to Gold Command where all decisions were made
Spillway half complete when an extreme storm event was forecast
Reservoir rose 13m in 8 hours due to snow thaw and rainfall

28
 Dam overflowed at 04.00 in dreadful weather conditions
All contingencies in place - sandbags stockpiled, staff & excavators
at the ready
LRFs notified
Evacuation plans ready
Gold Command ready
……
The repairs held

29
 Before After

30
 Oroville dam spillway failure
Located 75 miles north of Sacramento; completed in 1968
At 235 m high, it is the tallest dam in the U.S.

31
 Timeline of events
Early to mid-Jan: series of storms; main spillway gates opened
7th Feb: flows increase; spillway damage discovered; flows stopped

32
 3
3

33
 3
4

34
 3
5

35
 8th to 10th Feb: reservoir continues to fill
11th to 12th Feb: emergency spillway overflows – the hillside began
eroding uphill, threatening to collapse the concrete lip, causing the
top 10m of the reservoir to empty

36
37
38
 12th Feb: main spillway gates opened again to reduce flows over
the emergency spillway & evacuation commenced
13th Feb: crews fill eroded hillside with concrete & rocks

39
40
 13th to 26th Feb: main spillway flows continue erosion

41
 27th Feb: with the
reservoir lowered, flows
stopped down the main
spillway to allow
assessment of damage

42
 4
3

43
 4
4

44
 4
5

45
 4
6

46
 4
7

47
 28th Feb: works commence to clear the debris at the base of the
main spillway.

4
8

48
 4
9

49
 5
0

50
 Current state of play
• The 180,000 evacuees have returned home
• Crews continue to place millions of tons of rocks and concrete in
the emergency spillway
• Crews have cleared debris out of the river channel below the
main spillway
• The Hyatt Power Plant has reopened
• In the coming months, crews will begin to fix the main spillway
• So far an estimated $200 million has been spent

51
 Theories on the causes of the Oroville dam
spillway failure
Cavitation:
If defects were present in the concrete spillway, water flowing over
these may have created turbulence that formed bubbles that
collapsed with powerful force, breaking apart the concrete

Uplift pressures:
Hydraulic uplift pressure (due to water below the spillway) may
have built up, lifting the slabs

52
 Theories on the causes of the Oroville dam
spillway failure

Internal erosion:
Sealant between the concrete slabs may have deteriorated, allowing
water to seep underneath the spillway
The water then may have eroded the soil underneath the spillway
The slabs may have then collapsed into the voids

Or a combination of these causes?

53
 Lessons learnt
• Ongoing and timely maintenance and monitoring of spillway
channels
• Replacement of deteriorating joint sealant between slabs
• Ensure pressure relief drainage is functioning
• Maintenance of underdrains
• Consider undertaking NDT to check for voids underneath
spillways
• Consider employing leakage detection techniques to check for
any flow paths underneath spillways

54
 Acknowledgements

I’d like to thank Welsh Water for their permission to share the
learning from the spillway incident at Rhymney Bridge, and
acknowledge their commitment and management of the incident
that led to a successful conclusion.

55
 5
6

56 ANY QUESTIONS?