SAFETY EVALUATION OF EXISTING DAMS

With an ever-increasing emphasis on dam safety, the need for trained examination and evaluation personnel at the Water and Power Resources Service (formerly the Bureau of Reclamation) is mandatory. This manual will provide professional personnel with a comprehensive guide to a program of dam safety examination and evaluation. Although most statements in this manual refer to organizational procedures and units within the Service, the principles, concepts, and procedures are believed to be readily adaptable by any agency conducting a regulatory or in-house dam safety program for existing dams. The general topics discussed are: (1) Water and Power policy; (2) principles and concepts; (3) causes of failure; (4) philosophy of evaluation; (5) team makeup, training, and responsibility; (6) preparing and updating a Data Book, (7) evaluation of design, construction, and operation; (8) field (onsite) examinations; (9) report formats; (10) Data Book format; (11) evaluation guidelines; and (12) examination checklists. A selected bibliography on the subject of dam safety is provided in chapter X. This manual provides a guide for use by professional personnel in performing safety evaluations of existing dams and appurtenant structures. The principles and concepts of evaluation, causes of failures, and examples of adverse conditions are discussed. The manual sets forth guidelines for: Scope and frequency of evaluations; Team selection and responsibilities; Preparing and updating Data Books; Evaluating design, construction, and operations; Making field (onsite) examinations; Developing conclusions and recommendations; and Preparing reports. Although this manual is devoted to the safety evaluation of existing dams, references to the Service's total dam safety program, including the design and construction of new dams, do occur. (Author)

• Corporate Authors:

  Water and Power Resources Service

  Engineering and Research Center
  Denver, CO  United States  80225
• Publication Date: 1980

Media Info

• Features: Appendices; Figures;
• Pagination: 152 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Dams; Data collection; Failure; Field studies; Guidelines; Inspection; Manuals; Safety
• Uncontrolled Terms: Causes
• Old TRIS Terms: Field investigations
• Subject Areas: Geotechnology; Highways; Safety and Human Factors; I42: Soil Mechanics;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00335537
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Oct 28 1981 12:00AM