JANUARY 2009

Serving the hydro industry for 60 years: 1949-2009

Developments in dam safety
Highlighting hydro potential
RebuildingTaum Sauk
Constructing a new RCC dam at the US pumped storage scheme
0
28-29th April, Vancouver, BC, Canada
For further information on the
event, please contact:
Dorothee Archambault
Head of Production, VIBevents
Tel: +44 (0)20 7753 4246
Email: dorotheearchambault@vibevents.com
Assessing the resource

New estimates of micro (less than

100kW), mini (100kW-1MW) and
small hydro (1MW-50MW)

Identifying new locations

Developing projects at existing

structures

Training for engineers

International perspectives
Local issues

Developing local operation and

management

Operating experience

Quick routes to licensing

Assessing and minimising

environmental effects
Issues to be addressed at the event include:
Small Hydro 2009
New development
mechanisms

Government funding initiatives

Prospects for private funding

Risk assessment and allocation

Working with NGOs

Experience exchange: case

studies on financing

Public acceptance

CDM certified projects

Steps in technology

Improving technology to increase

efficiency

Refurbishing and uprating

New equipment

Software developments

Micro to mini keeping pace

with development
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CONTENTS
COVER: Rebuild work is currently
being carried out on the Taum
Sauk project in Missouri, US,
following a catastrophic failure of
the schemes upper reservoir
in December 2005. See p28 for
more details
39
42
16
DAM
ENGINEERING
ModernPowerSystems
COMMUNICATING POWER TECHNOLOGY WORLDWIDE
INTERNATIONAL WATER POWER & DAM CONSTRUCTION ISSN 0306-400X Volume 61 Number 1 JANUARY 2009 3
46 PROFESSIONAL DIRECTORY
48 WORLD MARKETPLACE
WWW.WATERPOWERMAGAZINE.COM
MEMBER OF THE AUDIT BUREAU OF CIRCULATION
R E G U L A R S
4 WORLD NEWS
10 DIARY
F E AT U R E S
INSIGHT
12 A welcome return for hydro
A new study has established hydros important role in
helping Scotland meet its targets for renewable generation
15 Expanding research in India
A new research centre has been set up in India to tap
into the immense hydro market
SEISMIC ANALYSIS
16 Fighting the fear of failure
Seismic risk at Toktogul hydro project in central Asia is
the focus of a NATO funded project
18 Analysing dam behaviour
Bosko J Guzina aims to help facilitate early discovery
and identification of tectonic activities at dams
PROJECT DEVELOPMENT
23 Playing a jumbo role
Six tunnelling jumbos are being used to excavate the
tunnels at La Confluencia project, Chile
24 The lowdown on RCC
Delegates gathered in Australia for a structured training
seminar on specialist RCC dam techniques
REFURBISHMENT
28 Rebuilding Taum Sauk
Details on the rebuild work being carried out at Taum
Sauk pumped storage project in the US
34 Dam safety, emergency action plans and water alarm systems
Martin Wieland and Rudolf Mueller discuss the integral
safety concept for large dams
39 Back on the mend
Essential remedial works including rock injection
grouting are being carried out at Lower Carno dam
40 Sounding out fatigue cracks
We provide details on the use of the acoustic emission
technique to detect crack signals on turbine blades
SOFTWARE
42 Getting to the bottom of it
Nick Forrest describes the development of Hydrobot a
new approach to hydro site identification
The paper used in this magazine is obtained
from manufacturers who operate within
internationally recognised standards.
The paper is made from Elementary Chlorine
Free (ECF) pulp, which is sourced from
sustainable, properly managed forestation.
15
WORLD NEWS
4 JANUARY 2009 INTERNATIONAL WATER POWER & DAM CONSTRUCTION
WORLD
NEWS
WORLD
NEWS
www.waterpowermagazine.com
B
RAZIL HAS SAID THAT
Ecuador has resumed pay-
ments to its national develop-
ment bank, BNDES, following months
of argument over the performance of,
and liability for, the San Francisco
hydro power project.
Ecuador resumes payments
for San Francisco to Brazil
The Brazilian Government said that
payments due to BNDES last month
were received. It added that following
talks in late November there should be
the return of its ambassador to
Ecuador shortly.
The row erupted in the middle of
last year following technical prob-
lems with the San Francisco plant,
which led to the Ecuadorian govern-
ment clamping down on Brazilian
contractor Odebrecht, which helped
build the plant and was heavily active
in fur ther infrastructure ventures in
the countr y.
Alleging poor per formance and
both financial costs and economic
impacts due to the technical prob-
lems at the plant, the Government
took possession of the San Francisco
plant as well as the Toachi-Pilaton
and Baba hydro projects and
Carrizal-Chone water transfer project
and wanted money back from
Odebrecht.
The San Francisco plant (2 x
115MW) began to generate commer-
cially in the second quarter of 2007,
and annually is to produce
1,426GWh/year or approximately
12%of the country's electricity supply.
The run-of-river project began con-
struction in 2003 under a 30-year con-
cession and is upstream of the
156MW Agoyan plant.
The concession was awarded by
the state electricity authority Conelec
to the Hidropastaza consortium, com-
prising Odebrecht as junior partner
and state-owned Hidro Agoyan.
The work at San Francisco was car-
ried out on an engineering, procure-
ment and construction (EPC) basis by
Odebrecht, Alstomand VA Tech Hydro.
Detailed design was carried out by
Caminosca and PCE Engenharia.
BNDES signed an agreement worth
approximately US$243Min 2000 with
Hidropastaza for the export of
Brazilian goods and services for the
project. The plant became operational
in 2007 and Odebrechts stake was
transferred to the Ecuadorian govern-
ment.
The bank noted that Ecuador is the
second biggest recipient of goods and
services exports it financed over 1997
to August last year, and cited a total
of US$693M of funding.
The Brazilian Government said it
would continue to monitor the state
progress of its economic relationship
with Ecuador.
Ukraine interested in completing Rogun scheme
B
ILATERAL CO-OPERATION
TALKS have raised the possi-
bility of Ukraine participating in
the completion of the Rogun project
in Tajikistan.
Following talks, the leaders of both
countries said a priority for them was
to boost co-operation in hydro power,
and noted that Ukraine had previous-
ly supplied much of the equipment to
the sector in Tajikistan.
They added that further co-opera-
tion in the construction of the Rogun
project was of interest to Ukraine, and
that a deal worth several hundred mil-
lion US dollars was being considered.
The 2400MW project is under
development on the Vakhsh river as
part of a hydro power cascade in the
Pamir-Altai Mountains. Work started
during the Soviet era then stopped
when it ended.
Being designed by consultant
Lahmeyer International, the Rogun
project is planned to be completed in
two stages with initial and final dam
heights of 235m and 285m, respec-
tively. It has also introduced a plan for
a 175m high start-up dam that would
be integrated with the main structure.
The benefit of the dam would be to
allow earlier power generation.
At Stage 1, three of the plants
600MW units would be installed but
working with only partial load. The
fourth unit would be added after Stage
2 to complete the project.
The proposed layout comprising
the rockfill embankment dam and an
underground powerhouse, is gener-
ally similar to the original design of
1978, except for design and layout
changes at spillways, mid-level outlet
and tailrace tunnels. A number of the
previously built structures need to be
demolished and some unused tun-
nels backfilled and sealed with con-
crete plugs.
The consultant was hired by Rusal,
the Russian aluminium conglomerate,
acting as agent body on behalf of the
Russian state in its co-operation with
the Government of Tajikistan to com-
plete the project.
Plants on the meltwater-fed Vakhsh
cascade include Nurek (3000MW),
Baipaza (600MW), Golovnaya
(240MW), Perepadnaya (30MW) and
Centralnaya (15MW).
Under construction on the river is
the 670MW Sangtuda-1
(Sangtudinskaya-1) plant, and the
220MW Sangtuda-2 project is being
developed.
Tacoma Power in Cushman settlement deal
A
ONE-TIME CASH PAYMENT, A
share of electric output and land
transfers have been agreed as
key parts of major claims settlement
between US utility Tacoma Power and
Skokomish Tribal Nation as part of
relicensing the Cushman hydro power
scheme in Washington state.
To settle the US$5.8B damages
claim, the parties agreed to Tacoma
Power making a US$12.6M one-time
cash payment, providing a 7.25%share
of output fromthe Cushman No2 plant,
and transfer of land valued at US$23M,
including the Camp Cushman on Lake
Cushman, the 500-acre Nalley Ranch
and Saltwater Park on Hood Canal.
Key further aspects of the licensing
agreement settlement include river
restoration, in-stream flows, fisheries
and recreation.
The settlement will licence the
Cushman facilities for another 40years,
subject to approval by the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).
Tacoma Power will also have the oppor-
tunity to construct an additional gener-
ator to capture some of the energy from
the restoration flows being released into
the North Fork Skokomish River.
The Cushman scheme on the
Skokomish river, in Mason County, com-
prises to dams and powerhouses: No1
Dam, which is 339m long, impounds
Lake Cushman, was completed in 1926
and generates approximately 127GWh
of electricity annually; the No2 Dam,
which is 175m long, impounds Lake
Kokanee, was finished in 1930and pro-
duces 233GWh per year.
The original, 50-year federal licence
for the scheme expired in 1974and until
1998 the utility has operated the facili-
ties under short-termlicences. A broad-
er licence was issued in 1998 and the
new settlement will modify the licence.
Mediation was used to start talks
towards a settlement, and both state
and federal agencies joined the nego-
tiations a year and a half ago. Last
month, Tacoma Public Utilities Board
authorised the proposed licensing set-
tlement, and Tacoma City Council
authorised the proposed damages
settlement.
Settlement agreement signers
include Tacoma Power, Skokomish
Tribal Nation, Bureau of Indian
Affairs, National Marine Fisheries
Ser vice, United States Forest
Service, United States Fish & Wildlife
Service, Washington Department of
Fish and Wildlife and Washington
Department of Ecology.
WORLD NEWS
WWW.WATERPOWERMAGAZINE.COM JANUARY 2009 5
IWP&DC
turns 60
This year International
Water Power & Dam
Construction celebrates its
60th birthday and what
a 60 years its been!
Launched as a bi-monthly
title in January 1949, the
journal has continually
been at the forefront of
developments within the
hydroelectric and dam
construction industry.
The very first issue of
IWP&DC contained a
number of informative
papers, including a review
of power resources in
Europe, a detailed report
on new hydro in Scotland,
new developments in
intake works and surge
tanks, as well as a write-up
on several large projects in
Canada. This eclectic mix
showed how important
hydro was throughout the
world and it is no
different today. This issue,
for example, highlights
hydro news from around
the globe, while detailing
schemes in the US,
Scotland and Asia.
The May 2009 edition of
the journal however will
be our special anniversary
issue. Here well look back
through the years at some
of the most important
developments that have
shaped the face of the
industry. Well be high-
lighting some interesting
news from the last six
decades, while offering an
insight into future issues.
Well also be featuring
interviews with industry
stalwarts who will
pinpoint the most impor-
tant projects and
developments from the
last 60 years.
FERCapproves first hydrokinetic
plant at existing hydro facility
T
HE FIRST HYDROKINETIC PLANT
to be attached to an existing
hydro power facility has won
approval from the US Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission (FERC).
Two hydrokinetic units are to be
installed below a floating barge in the
tailrace of the US Army Corps of
Engineers' Lock & Dam No2 on the
Mississippi river in Hastings,
Minnesota. Each has a capacity of
35kW, said FERC, and the units are
expected to generate an average of
364MWh of electricity per year.
The units are being supplied by
Hydro Green Energy, which said each
has a nameplate capacity of 100kW.
One was installed in Dec with the
second due in April. The Corps
approved the project last November.
FERC, in a statement, noted the
importance of the step because it
combined new technology with a con-
ventional hydro power dam.
The existing hydro power facility at
Lock & Dam No2 has an installed
capacity of 4.4MW.
FERC's approval of the hydrokinetic
project was welcomed by the National
Hydropower Association (NHA), which
said the decision was a major mile-
stone in the development of hydro-
electric power in the US.
Water development pledge for Africa
A
PLEDGE TO PUSH WATER
development in Africa to boost
irrigation and energy has been
issued by governments at a confer-
ence on tackling climate change,
said the UN Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO).
The conference brought together
ministers from 53 countries and a
key part of the final declaration was
suppor t for hydro power develop-
ment. They backed clean energy pro-
duction and strengthening regional
power pools.
Strategically, they advocated the
implementation of integrated devel-
opment of water, agriculture and
energy programmes to enhance sus-
tainable development. Specifically,
they also sought accelerated invest-
ment in water resources for agricul-
ture and energy.
The mid-December conference,
held in Libya, noted that Africa was
likely to suffer severely from the
impact of climate change. Concerns
were raised especially about the
diminishing size of Lake Chad.
The ministers agreed to push
research and development of renew-
able energy and agriculture as part of
the measures to mitigate the most
excessive impacts of climate change.
P
PL CORPORATION HAS WITH-
DRAWN an application filed a
year ago with the US Federal
Energy Regulator y Commission
(FERC) to expand its Holtwood hydro-
electric plant on the Susquehanna
River in Pennsylvania, stating that the
project was no longer economically
justifiable.
William H. Spence, executive vice
president and chief operating officer
of PPL Corporation, said the company
had evaluated the project in light of
current economic conditions and pro-
jections of future energy prices, and
concluded that it would not be eco-
nomical to pursue the scheme, whose
S
TUCKY HAS ENTERED INTO A
strategic hydro development
pact with US firm Doheny
Global Group for projects to be built
in Georgia, central Asia.
At the end of last year, Doheny
announced it was planning to invest
up to US$175M in hydro schemes in
Georgia. It anticipates building four to
six plants with combined installed
PPL withdraws application to
expand Holtwood hydro plant
costs had grown to an estimated
US$440M.
The expansion at Holtwood had
been included in PPL's capital budget.
Construction was expected to begin in
2009, assuming receipt of necessary
approvals and permits. The expected
in-service date was 2012.
Spence noted that even prior to
the decision to cancel the Holtwood
project, PPL had reduced planned
capital spending by more than
$200M for 2009 in the face of the
worldwide financial crisis and the
increased cost of financing. PPL will
continue other generation expansion
projects that are already under con-
struction at other facilities.
The expansion at Holtwood would
have included construction of two addi-
tional hydroelectric turbine-generators
with a combined capacity of 125MW.
The existing Holtwood hydroelectric
plant has a generating capacity of
108MWand has been operating since
1910.
PPL will continue, subject to neces-
sary regulatory approvals, with its
plans to transfer certain company-
owned lands in Lancaster and York
counties to the Lancaster County
Conservancy as part of a broad public-
private initiative to preserve land along
the Susquehanna River for public use.
Stucky in Georgia hydro pact with Doheny
capacity of at least 100MW.
The Switzerland-based consultant is
to work with Doheny on developing the
run-of-river projects, and the parties
are liaising with the Ministry of Energy.
Doheny said that its hydro power devel-
opment plans are strongly backed by
the government of Georgia and the US.
In a statement, Stucky said: 'The
synergy that will be created by com-
bining the extensive knowledge,
expertise and abilities of our two com-
panies will allow us to execute signif-
icant new projects and demonstrate
continued commitment to Georgia.'
Georgia has said hydro power
development is an economic priority,
and Doheny's plans were announced
following a US trade mission to the
country in late October.
WORLD NEWS
6 JANUARY 2009 INTERNATIONAL WATER POWER & DAM CONSTRUCTION
O
NTARIO POWER GENERATION
(OPG) and the Lac Seul First
Nation have formed an historic
par tnership that will see the First
Nation own 25% of the Lac Seul
hydroelectric generating station, locat-
ed near Ear Falls, Ontario, Canada.
This is first such par tnership for
OPG and paves the way forward for a
new way of doing business according
to OPG Chairman Jake Epp. '[We've]
made histor y. OPG will use this
approach to develop similar projects
with other First Nations and we've cre-
ated a new way of growing our busi-
ness. We're moving towards a future
E
VN HAS ENTERED INTO A JOINT
venture with Statkraft to develop
a hydro power scheme on the
Devoll River in Albania.
The move comes almost a year after
EVN entered exclusive negotiations to
build three peak-power plants on the
river. The Austrian utility had won an
international tender competition that
was launched after it had earlier sub-
mitted an unsolicited proposal to devel-
op hydro power resources on the
Devoll River.
Concession negotiations have been
underway for most of this year and
have been concluded with Statkraft
now involved in the venture.
The plants were initially conceived
with a combined capacity of 400MW
but are now planned to be 340MW in
total. The hydro power scheme has a
development budget of Euro950M
(US$1.33B), and construction period
of approximately eight years.
Owned equally by EVN and the
Norwegian utility, the JV will see them
build on their respective experience in
the region and use their combined
A
LUMINIUM PRODUCER ALCOA
has struck a new power supply
agreement with Hydro-Quebec
through to 2040.
The deal follows a Memorandum
of Understanding (MoU) signed earli-
er this year with the provincial gov-
ernment. Under the arrangement,
there would be agreement for addi-
tional power as well as renewal of
existing supply contracts.
Alcoa said the deals would cover
A
CONSORTIUM LED BY ALSTOM
Hydro, and including Voith
Siemens and Andritz Hydro, has
been awarded a major equipment
supply contract for a share of
the 3300MW Jirau project under
construction in the state of
Rondonia, Brazil.
A total of 28 bulb turbine-genera-
tors, each 75MW capacity, are to be
supplied by the consortium. The plant
will have 44 units when completed,
and the first units are to be commis-
sioned from 2012.
Alstom Hydro said its contract
was wor th more that Euro300M
(US$420M), and was awarded by the
GDF Suez-led project developer. It is
to supply 10 turbines, 17 generators
and all of the associated governors
for the 28 units.
The project developer, known as
Energia Sustentavel do Brasil, is led by
GDF Suez (50.1%) and includes Chesf
(20%), Eletrosul (20%) and Camargo
Correa (9.9%).
A few months ago, Alstom Hydro
announced separately the value of
OPGand First Nation in energy partnership
where development of clean, renew-
able hydroelectric projects proceeds
in way that is fair to all parties and is
based on trust and respect,' he said.
'This is a proud time for my people,
and myself,' added Chief Clifford Bull
of the Lac Seul First Nation. 'It marks
the end of an era when our rights and
our history were ignored and launches
an era where we're treated as equals.'
George Smitherman, Deputy Premier
and Minister of Energy and
Infrastructure, agreed that the partner-
ship is a significant step forward to
ensuring Ontario's First Nations can fully
participate in responsibly developing the
province's shared resources. 'In addi-
tion to providing clean, green power for
our province, this new generating sta-
tion will benefit the Lac Seul First Nation
through revenues that will help to
enhance the future sustainability of their
community,' Smitherman noted. 'I look
forward to a future where First Nations
partnerships with energy generators are
considered the norm and not historic.'
The partnership stemmed from a
past grievance settlement reached in
2006. The settlement addressed the
impact of hydroelectric facilities that
were built on traditional lands of the Lac
Seul First Nation on the English River
system between 1930 and 1948.
The equity partnership will see the
Lac Seul First Nation purchase a 25%
share of the 12.5MW station, which
will be in service early this year. The
station will generate enough electrici-
ty to meet the annual needs of 5000
homes. All future profits and risks will
be shared by OPG and the First Nation.
The new station, adjacent to the Ear
Falls Generating Station, will have dual
names, also being known by the
Ojibway title Obishikokaang
Waasiganikewigamig, which translates
as White Pine Narrows electricity gen-
erating building.
Jirau contract for Alstom,
Voith and Andritz
its contract to supply electro-
mechanical equipment and hydro-
mechanical equipment on Jirau's
sister project the 3150MW Santo
Antonio project on the 6450MW
Madeira scheme under construction
in western Brazil.
The contract is worth approximate-
ly Euro500M (US$700M). The con-
cessionaire joint venture is led by
Odebrecht, which awarded the engi-
neering, procurement and construction
(EPC) contract. Alstom Hydro is a
member of the concession JV and pre-
viously said it would supply 19 turbines
and 22 generators to the Santo
Antonio project which, like Jirau, will
have 44 units.
AlstomHydro is a JV of French com-
panies Alstom and Bouygues.
Separately, Andritz announced the
award of a contract to supply a share
of the bulb turbine-generators and
other equipment for Santo Antonio. It
said the contract was valued at
approximately Euro250M (US$350M)
and would see it supply 12 units plus
24 voltage regulating systems.
Statkraft teams with
EVNfor Albania venture
knowledge in the planning, construc-
tion and operation of the scheme. The
utilities noted that the Devoll initiative
is one of Europe's largest hydro
schemes at present.
The Devoll scheme follows an
energy development pact signed nearly
two years ago by the Government of
Albania, the federal province of Lower
Austria, and EVN. Feasibility studies
were undertaken in 2007. The scheme
will boost the country's hydro produc-
tion by about a fifth.
About three months ago EVN and
another Austrian utility, Verbund, were
awarded a concession to build the
48MWAshta project in Albania. The JV
has a 35-year concession, including
the construction period to 2012, and
the Straflo Matrix units are being sup-
plied by Andritz for the project.
Almost a year ago Statkraft signed
a deal to help develop four hydro power
plants in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The
plants are to be built on the lower
Vrbas river in the Republic of Srpska,
and are expected to have a combined
installed capacity of 75MW.
Alcoa and Hydro-Quebec in power agreement deal
supplies for its three smelters in the
Canadian province and provided for the
upgrade and expansion of one facility.
In total, the power supply agreements
are for just over a quarter of the com-
pany's aluminium production.
The agreements cover approxi-
mately 1.1Mtonne/year, and the three
smelters (Baie Comeau, Becancour
and Deschambault) are to be supplied
with a total of 2.1GW through to the
end of 2040. The capacity of the Baie
Comeau smelter is to be expanded by
111,000 tonne/year by 2014 and
have greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
cut by 40%.
In recent months, Alcoa has sepa-
rately signed power supply deals for
smelters in Washington state. It made
an agreement with Bonneville Power
Administration (BPA) for the Intalco
smelter, and Chelan County Public
Utility District (PUD) for its Wenatchee
smelter. Under the BPA deal, up to an
average of 240MW is to be provided
for the first 10 years of the contract,
which is scheduled to commence in
October 2011. For a further seven
years the utility would supply 160MW.
Last year, the company's progress
with plans for a 340, 000
tonne/year smelter in Iceland led to
Norsk Hydro bowing out with its own
concept. It already has supplies from
the recently built Karahnjukar hydro-
electric plant.
WORLD NEWS
WWW.WATERPOWERMAGAZINE.COM JANUARY 2009 7
In Brief
A GRANT OF US$12.5M
has been approved by the
Inter-American
Development Bank
(IADB) to refurbish the
Peligre hydro power plant
in Haiti. Output from the
54MW plant is half of its
potential due to the age of
the equipment and reser-
voir sedimentation
reducing the volume of
water available for hydro
power. IADB said that the
grant was for the first
phase of a US$40M
rehabilitation programme.
The five-year long rehabil-
itation programme will be
in three phases one for
each of the plant's three
turbines. The following
two phases are to be funded
by IADB and the OPEC
Fund for International
Development.
ENEL HAS SET UP ENEL
Green Power to hold its
hydro and other assets in
the group's renewables
portfolio and to develop
further resources, includ-
ing run-of-river projects in
Europe and the Americas.
The new unit has more
than 270 mini-hydro
plants in Italy, and their
combined installed capaci-
ty is 1507MW. Elsewhere,
the unit has approximately
1GW of hydro power
assets. Its strategy is to
both increase efficiency at
existing plants and to
focus on run-of-river
developments. Outside
Italy, breakdown of the
hydro power assets is
26MW in Spain, 314MW
in North America and
640MW in Latin America.
At present, Enel Green
Power has almost 4.3GW
of installed capacity
generating more than
17TWh.
SNPower reviews health and
safety at Allain Duhangan
N
ORWEGIAN HYDRO DEVELOP-
ER SN Power is reviewing the
health and safety data on the
Allain Duhangan project under con-
struction in India after learning of
under-reporting of fatal accidents.
The company said that it had
learned of two fatalities among sub-
contractors that were not reported at
its partly-owned project being built in
the state of Himachal Pradesh.
It added that the total number of
deaths on the run-of-river project is 11
since construction began in 2006, and
A
DEAL BETWEEN AVISTA AND
the Coeur d'Alene Tribe has
taken for ward the US utility's
relicensing effor ts for its plants on
the Spokane River, which runs
through Washington and Idaho
states.
Under the comprehensive settle-
ment that covers past and future use
of tribal land and water for the
Spokane River plants, the utility and
tribe have also agreed to the reli-
censing bids for 50-year terms, main-
taining water levels, transmission
line corridors and future storage pay-
ments related to Post Falls reservoir.
An investment package worth up
to US$150M is planned for environ-
mental measures at Coeur d'Alene
Lake and compensation to the tribe.
The level of compensation for past
use of storage water is US$39M,
and payments are to be made over
three years.
For future storage the par ties
agreed to compensation of US$0.4M
annually for the first 20 years of a
new licence, and US$0.7M each year
for the remainder of the term.
In addition, Avista has agreed to
establish a resource protection trust
fund to help it and the tribe collabo-
rate on erosion control, wetland
management, monitoring, weed man-
agement and protection of cultural
resources. Funding of US$100M will
be contributed by the utility over the
term of the 50-year licence.
Want to read more news? Why not
sign up for our email newsletter at
www.waterpowermagazine.com.
T
HE ENERGY SECTOR OF THE
Kyrgyz Republic is continuing to
suffer poor hydrology and knock-
on impacts, which have brought finan-
cial help from multilateral agencies,
but in bilateral talks its Government
has agreed with Iran to expand co-
operation in dam construction.
The World Bank said that the hydro
power-dependent Central Asian coun-
try was experiencing a dry hydrological
cycle made worse by a severe winter,
resulting in uncertain power production
from its generating assets.
There are 3.4GWof hydro assets in
the country, and the portfolio is domi-
nated by the Naryn cascade which is
regulated by the Toktogul reservoir.
A key step for the Bank is to support
the thermal power plants at Bishkek
and Osh, which supply power as well
as heat to major cities but are down in
N
AMIBIA POWER IS FINALISING
an MoU for mini-hydro develop-
ment on the Orange River and
has launched studies for the devel-
opment of the Baynes hydroelectric
power project.
The state utility is finalising a MoU
with South Africa-based Clarkson
Power, which has already conducted
most of the studies for the project.
Under the deal, the companies would
jointly develop mini-hydro plants along
the Orange River.
NamPower has board approval to
contribute N$7.2M (US$700,000)
there have been 81 personal injuries
requiring treatment at hospital or an
out-patient clinic.
The 192MW hydro power project is
being developed by the joint venture
company Malana Power, in which SN
Power has a 43% stake. The principal
shareholder is NLJ Bhilwara Group
(45%) and the balance is owned by the
International Finance Corporation (IFC).
The underreporting of fatalities
emerged from an audit in mid-
November. SN Power said it had not
been given full and complete informa-
tion from the project company.
Allain Duhangan has an under-
ground powerhouse at the confluence
of the Allain and Duhangan rivers,
which are tributaries of the Beas river.
The design head is 833m and the
powerhouse holds two 96MW vertical
axis Pelton turbines. The project
budget is US$220M.
SN Power is equally owned
by Statkraft and Nor fund, an invest-
ment body.
There is agreement in place for the
utility to raise its holding to 60%.
Kyrgyz Republic suffers weak
hydrology, gets funding boost
production capacity from 700MW to
200MW. Funds of US$11Mhave been
provided under an emergency assis-
tance project to finance equipment,
material and spare parts for the plants
with the work expected to take almost
a year and a half to complete.
Further funding has been given by
the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
- which also noted the drop in hydro
power output - to help the country
tackle the same as well as more wide-
spread energy and economic prob-
lems. Over 18 months the IMF will give
about US$100M.
However, despite the ongoing hydro-
logical difficulties, earlier this month
the bilateral talks between the Kyrgyz
and Iranian governments highlighted a
number of areas of proposed eco-
nomic and infrastructure co-operation,
including dam construction.
Avista progress
on relicensing
Spokane plants
Namibia Power moves on
Orange River, studies Baynes
towards the cost of the feasibility
study.
Separately, the utility has launched
environmental and techno-economic
feasibility studies for the Baynes hydro
power scheme, which is a joint initia-
tive of the governments of Namibia
and Angola. The studies are expected
to take about 18 months.
The project, on the Kunene river in
Angola, was previously estimated to
have a potential installed capacity of
360MW. The Angolan side of the devel-
opment is being handled by power util-
ity ENE.
WORLD NEWS
8 JANUARY 2009 INTERNATIONAL WATER POWER & DAM CONSTRUCTION
Brookfield applies to LIHI
BROOKFIELD RENEWABLE POWER has applied for certification for its
Twin Cities plant, in Minnesota, to the US Low Impact Hydropower
Institute (LIHI).
Brookfield closed its acquisition of the 17.9MW plant in 2008 after
agreeing a deal with the previous owner, Ford Motor Co, in mid-2007. It
generates approximately 97GWh of electricity annually.
The plant, on the Mississippi river, holds four Francis turbines in the
powerhouse that is integral with a US Corps of Engineers dam, which
consists of twin lock chambers and a central concrete spillway. It is
operated in run-of-river mode.
LIHI said no further works were planned at the plant. Brookfield has plans
for another plant downstream of Twin Cities, and it is expected to have an
installed capacity of 10MW.
Deadline for comment to LIHI on the application was 30 January 2009.
The company's Black River scheme was certified previously by LIHI, which
has noted that Brookfield is its most active client.
Separately, in October 2008, LIHI re-certified Hydro Energy Development
Corp's Black Creek plant, near Seattle, Washington state. The plant has
an installed capacity of 3.7MW and average annual generation is 10GWh.
T
HE 14GW ITAIPU PLANT ON THE
border of Brazil and Paraguay
last year produced its highest
ever annual output, repor ted the
binational plant operator.
Itaipu generated almost
94,685GWh of electricity in 2008,
which is 1.3% higher than the previ-
ous highest output, achieved in
2000. However, the plant had 20
generating units installed last year
to take advantage of good hydrology
on the Parana river compared to only
18 units in 2000.
Itaipu operated with 18 units
between it commencing operations in
Itaipu output highest ever in 2008
1991 to the third quarter of 2006
when the 19th turbine-generator was
installed. The last unit was added in
mid-2007. Typically, the plant is oper-
ated with all but two of the 715MWver-
tical Francis units running.
Output in recent years was averag-
ing about 90,000GWh, rising from
2006 and the plant operator now
expects production to be able to aver-
age approximately 95,000GWh.
The output last year delivered a 19%
share in the Brazilian market, which
was no change on 2007. However, the
share is down on the 26% share
enjoyed in 1995 and 1996, shortly
after the plant became operational. In
2000 Itaipu held a quarter of the
Brazilian market.
In the third quarter last year, Brazil
looked to further binational co-opera-
tion through a pact with Argentina to
investigate additional hydroelectric
schemes on the Uruguai river in the
border region, especially for the Garabi
scheme.
Also on the Parana river in the
1990s, Argentina developed the
3200MW Yacyreta project with
Paraguay. Argentina also has a bina-
tional project with Uruguay the
1890MW Salto Grande scheme.
In Brief
AT THE END OF 2008,
Scottish and Southern
Energy (SSE) generated
first power over 24 hours
in commissioning work at
the 100MW Glendoe
plant in Scotland the
biggest conventional
hydro power project to be
built in the UK for half a
century. Construction
work began on site began
almost three years ago.
The project is being built
by the Hochtief Glendoe
JV, a joint venture led by
Hochtief. The designer is
Poyry Energy and genera-
tion plant is supplied by
Andritz Hydro.
A WAVE ENERGY
development deal has been
signed by Ocean Power
Technologies and the
Leighton construction
group to build plants off
the coast of Australia. The
partners are to identify
and assess potential sites
for wave energy projects
off the east and south costs
of Australia. The pact has
been signed by subsidiaries
of the businesses - Ocean
Power Technologies
(Australasia) and Leighton
Contractors.
GDF SUEZ HAS COM-
PLETED the main
construction work for Sao
Salvador hydro power
project in northern Brazil.
The project has been built
on the river Tocantins, on
the border of the states of
Tocantins and Goias. Last
year Brazilian national
environmental regulator,
Ibama, issued its approval
for the 241MW plant to
be operated. The plant is
due to be operational from
2011. Ibama said the
licence to begin operations
was valid for four years.
U
S COMPANY SYMBIOTICS
Energy has submitted further
development plans for the
700MW North Eden pumped storage
project in Utah to the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission (FERC).
Symbiotics received a preliminary
permit for the project fromFERC in late
December. It is developing the project
through North Eden Hydro LLC, which
has submitted a notification of intent
(NoI) and pre-application document
(PAD).
The preliminary permit covers stud-
ies for a potential pumped storage proj-
ect in North Eden Canyon off Bear
Lake in Rich County, Utah, close to the
border with Idaho.
Work on the PAD began in the third
quarter of 2007.
It is envisaged that the project will
have two dams and reservoirs plus a
surface powerhouse fitted with seven
100MWpump turbines, a surface pen-
stock and tailrace tunnel. The devel-
oper aims to produce approximately
2027GWh annually from the plant.
Company spokesman Justin Barker
told IWP&DC that a conservative devel-
opment budget of approximately
US$700M has been set for the proj-
ect, which it is hoped will become oper-
ational around 2011-12. He said the
timing was related to the construction
of the Gateway West transmission link
to which the project would connect.
Symbiotics' earlier attempt to devel-
op a hydro power project at Bear Lake
in Hook Canyon was a 1120MW
scheme covering territory over Utah
and Idaho but was dropped due to
opposition.
I
BAMA, THE BRAZILIAN ENVIRON-
MENTAL regulator, has fined the
builder of the 3150MW Santo
Antonio project over fish fatalities
caused by construction-related work.
The agency found 11 tonnes of fish
killed by the construction-related work
on the river Madeira, in the western
state of Rondonia. A fine of US$7.7M
was set against the builder, Madeira
Energia Consortium (Mesa).
Ibama said that the fine was calcu-
lated from one law which sets a value
of US$500 per kilo of fish killed, which
brought the basic cost to US$5.5M.
However, the sum was increased
through allowance in another law,
which resulted in the fine being
increased by 40%.
Costs incurred by the builder will
also include remedial works to count-
er the damage caused to fisheries.
Fish fatalities fine at Brazil's
Santo Antonio hydro project
The fine follows a site visit to the
project on 10 December 2008 by the
state representative of Ibama. The
teamgave technical guidance on help-
ing to minimise fisheries impacts.
Santo Antonio is being constructed
on the Madeira rapids, approximately
6kmupstreamof Porto Velho and Vila
de Abuna on the Brazilian and Bolivian
borders, respectively.
Mesa is a consortium led by
Brazilian electricity utility Furnas and
construction group Odebrecht. The JV
was awarded a 30-year concession to
build, operate, manage and market the
output of the hydro project at the end
of 2007.
Construction work on Santo Antonio
started in the third quarter of 2008.
The plant will have 44 units and first
power is scheduled to be produced in
the third quarter of 2012.
Symbiotics
submits North
Eden plans
10 JANUARY 2009 INTERNATIONAL WATER POWER & DAM CONSTRUCTION
DIARY
Let IWP&DCs readers knowabout your forthcoming conferences and events.
For publication in a future issue, send your diary dates to: Carrieann Stocks, IWP&DC, Progressive Media Markets Ltd, Progressive House,
2 Maidstone Road, Foots Cray, Sidcup, Kent, DA14 5HZ, UK. Alternatively, email: cstocks@progressivemediagroup.com.
DIARY OF EVENTS
May
13-15 May
Second National Symposium on
Dam Safety
Eskisehir, Turkey
CONTACT: Eskisehir Osmangazi
University, Earthquake Research
Center, 26480 Bah Meselik,
Eskishehir, Turkey.
Email: info@barajguvenligi.org;
ogudam@ogu.edu.tr.
17-21 May
World Environmental & Water
Resources Congress
Kansas City, Missouri, US
CONTACT: Adele C. Dicken,
CMP, Conference Manager, ASCE
World Headquarters, 1801
Alexander Bell Drive, Reston,
Virginia 20191-4400, US.
Email: adicken@asce.org.
24-29 May
23rd ICOLD Congress
Brasilia
CONTACT: Brazilian Committee
on Dams, Rua Real Grandeza 219,
Bloco C S/1007 Botafogo, Rio de
Janiero, Brazil.
Tel: (055 21) 25285320.
Fax: (055 21) 25285959.
www.cbdb.org.br.
June
24-26 June
IHA Congress 2009
Reykjavik, Iceland
CONTACT: International
Hydropower Association, Fifth
Floor West, Nine Sutton Court
Road, Sutton, Surrey. United
Kingdom, SM1 4SZ.
Tel: +44 20 8652 5290.
Fax: +44 20 8770 1744.
Email: iha@hydropower.org.
www.hydropower.org.
April
20-22 April
2nd Int. Conference on Hydro
-power Technology & Equipment
Beijing, China
CONTACT: Wang Yu, Lei Dingyan,
Sun Zhuo, Rm. 431, Main Building,
No.1 Lane 2 Baiguang Rd. Xuanwu
Dist, Bejing 100761, China.
Tel: 86 10 63414390; 63414391;
63414394.
Fax: 86 10 63547632.
E-mail:cshe@checc.cn.
www.hydropower.org.cn/ichte/en/in
dex.jsp.
28-29 April
Small Hydro 2009
Vancouver, Canada
CONTACT: Carrieann Stocks,
Editor, International Water Power
&Dam Construction, 2 Maidstone
Road, Foots Cray, Sidcup, Kent
DA14 5HZ, UK.
Tel: +44 (0) 208 269 7777.
Fax: +44 208 269 7804.
cstocks@progressivemediagroup.com
www.waterpowermagazine.com/smallh
ydro2009.
February
8-10 February
Middle East Electricity 2009
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
CONTACT: IIR Middle East,
Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Tel: 971 4 407 2422.
www.middleeastelectricity.com.
25-27 February
Geosynthetics 2009
Utah, US
CONTACT: Industrial Fabrics
Association International (IFAI)
Geosynthetic Materials Association
(GMA), 1801 County Road B W
Roseville, MN 55114-4061 US.
Tel: +1 651 222 2508.
Fax: +1 651 631 9334.
www.geoshow.info.
March
3-5 March
Underwater Intervention 2009
New Orleans, US
CONTACT: Rebecca Roberts,
5206 FM 1960 West, Suite 202,
Houston, TX 77069 US.
Tel: +1 281 893 8539.
Email: rroberts@adc-int.org.
www.underwaterintervention.com.
10-12 March
Renewable Energy World
Conference & Expo
Las Vegas, US
CONTACT: Jan Simpson,
Conference Manager.
Tel: +1 918 831 9736.
Fax: +1 918 831 9875.
rewna-conference@pennwell.com.
www.power-gengreen.com.
12-13 March
Water Power & Climate Change
Annual Conference on Hydraulic
Engineering
Dresden, Germany
CONTACT: Prof Dr-Ing habil R.
Pohl, Institut Fur Wasserbau und
Technische Hydromechanik,
Technische Universitat Dresden, D-
01602 Dresden, Germany.
Tel: +49 351 463 33837.
Fax: +49 351 463 37141.
thm@mailbox.tu-dresden.de.
www.wd.tu-dresden.de.
16-22 March
5th World Water Forum
Istanbul, Turkey
CONTACT: 5th ForumSecretariat,
DSI, Libadiye Caddesi No.54,
Kkamlica - skdar, 34696
Istanbul, Turkey.
Tel: +90 216 325 49 92.
Fax: +90 216 428 09 92.
info@worldwaterforum5.org.
www.worldwaterforum5.org.
30-31 March
Arabian Power & Water Summit
2009
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
CONTACT: Middle East Business
Intelligence, Dubai Media City, PO
Box 25960, Al Thuraya Tower 1,
20th Floor, Dubai, United Arab
Emirates.
Fax: +971 4 368 8025.
www.meed.com.
July
27-30 July
Waterpower XVI
Spokane, Washington, US
CONTACT: HCI Publications,
410 Archibald Street, Kansas City,
October
27 September 1 October
Dam Safety 2009
Florida, US
CONTACT: Association of State
Dam Safety Ofcials (ASDSO),
450 Old Vine Street, Lexington
KY 40507, US.
Tel: +1 859 257 5140.
Fax: +1 859 323 1958.
Email: info@damsafety.org.
http://www.damsafety.org.
3-8 October
Canadian Dam Association
Annual Conference
British Columbia, Canada
CONTACT: Canadian Dam
Association, PO Box 4490, South
Edmonton Postal Station,
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6E
4X7.
Tel: +1 780 432 7236.
http://www.cda.ca.
26-28 October
Hydro 2009
Lyon, France
CONTACT: Hydropower &
Dams Editorial Ofce,
Aqua~Media International Ltd,
123 Westmead Road, Sutton,
Surrey SM1 4JH, UK.
Tel: +44 20 8643 5133.
edit@hydropower-dams.com.
www.hydropower-dams.com.
August
10-14 August
International Association of
Hydraulic Engineering &Research
33rd Biennial Congress
Vancouver, BC, Canada
CONTACT: Stacey Ann P.
Gardiner, CMP, Congress
Manager, ASCE World
Headquarters, 1801 Alexander
Bell Drive, Reston, Virginia 20191-
4400, US.
IAHRConferenceManager@asce.org
MO 64111, US.
Tel: +1 816 931 1311.
Fax: +1 816 931-2015.
Email: info@hcipub.com.
www.hcipub.com.
The IHA Congress takes place on 23-26 June 2009 in Reykjavik, Iceland.
Contact us today to find out more about this extraordinary event.
Tel: +44 20 8652 5290 Email: iha@hydropower.org www.hydropower.org
Advancing Sustainable Hydropower
12 JANUARY 2009 INTERNATIONAL WATER POWER & DAM CONSTRUCTION
INSIGHT
H
YDRO power is back. And its
back in a big way in Scotland.
These were the words of Scottish
First Minister Alex Salmond fol-
lowing publication of the Scottish
Hydropower Resource Study in September
2008. Energy Minister Jim Mather echoed
his colleagues sentiments. We are desper-
ately enthusiastic about hydro, he said.
So howdid this hydro study prompt such
an accolade from the Scottish government?
As David Williams, chief executive of the
British Hydropower Association admitted,
hydro power has long been the quiet
renewable. The success behind this study is
that it has proved the vital role which hydro
can play in the Scottish drive for renewable
energy generation. Furthermore, Williams
believes that the study will stimulate devel-
opment of new projects of all sizes, in a
country which has already firmly embraced
hydro technology.
HUGE IMPORTANCE
The Scottish Hydropower Resource Study
was carried out for the Forum for
Renewable Energy Development in Scotland
(FREDS). A partnership between industry,
academia and government, FREDS has a
role to play in helping Scotland meet its
2020 target of generating 50%of electricity
from renewables. Prior to this in 2011, a
milestone target has also been set at 31%
equivalent to approximately 5GW of
installed capacity.
As Energy Minister JimMather said, these
renewables targets will enable the govern-
ment to capitalise on the countrys huge
renewable energy resource, securing signifi-
cant economic development. In making
Scotland the green energy capital of Europe,
we want to utilise the rich mix of our diverse
renewables potential, he stated. Hydro
remains a hugely important part of that mix.
Awelcome return for hydro
The Scottish government is working hard to claim the title as the green energy
capital of Europe. In recent years the pace of hydroelectric development has slowed,
but publication of a new study has established hydros important role in fulfilling this
ambition. There is now tremendous enthusiasm to ensure that Scotlands hydro
power legacy lives on. Suzanne Pritchard reports
very quiet in recent years. Aside from the
market, the study showed that the cost of
licences is less influential than might have
been thought, while planning restrictions in
environmentally sensitive areas have a very
strong reducing effect on the national total.
The study strongly recommends that pro-
cedural change is worthy of immediate
attention and states: It is now evident that
factors such as natural heritage designations
and business rates will dictate how much of
a contribution hydro power will make in
practice. Therefore, there is justification to
scrutinise the hydro planning process for
unnecessary delays and restrictions, partic-
ularly where the impacts are weaker and
defensible with simple mitigation measures,
without sacrificing an appropriate level of
environmental conservation.
The areas highlighted as being in need of
further research include:
The effect of natural heritage land desig-
nations upon the success rate and size of
hydro schemes.
Inter-catchment diversions.
The impact of offsetting local consumption.
A detailed survey of existing weirs across
Scotland.
INSIGHT
WWW.WATERPOWERMAGAZINE.COM JANUARY 2009 13
With the above thought in mind, the
hydro resource study was commissioned to
provide an assessment of potential hydro
power development within Scotland. It was
also to provide an estimate of the theoreti-
cal potential for expanding hydro. All of
this, Mather added, would help to ensure
that this form of energy continues to con-
tribute to Scotlands renewables targets.
One reason why we set up the study was
to emphasise and give confidence to people
that hydro still has a big part to play, First
Minister Alex Salmond said. The report
indicates that small scale hydro projects
taken together could light up to a quarter of
Scottish homes. What is so exciting is that
these small and micro hydro projects could
commit half as much again of the enormous
contribution that hydro already makes in
this country. We can say that hydro is back
in a big way in Scotland.
Installed hydroelectric capacity in
Scotland stands at 1379MW. The study has
shown that there are still 657MW of finan-
cially viable hydro schemes to exploit. Using
expected load factors of 40% for run-of-
river schemes and close to 100%for storage
schemes, the total number of additional
homes that could be powered by hydroelec-
tricity is close to 600,000. The equivalent
output would be 2.98TWh/yr. However,
grid and environmental constraints mean
that only some of this could be connected.
This study has shown that the available
and economical hydro resource in Scotland
can play a significant role in reaching our
renewable energy targets, Mather said. We
are keen to get a better alignment between
communities, statutory bodies and develop-
ers. This report will help us to do that.
REMOVING BARRIERS
Co-author of the study, Nick Forrest,
explained that its purpose was not just to
quantify the remaining potential for hydro
in Scotland, but to identify the main barri-
ers to development. Our approach to model
hydro schemes remotely, using a geograph-
ical information systemcalled Hydrobot [see
p42], allowed us to examine how the total
potential varied in response to key factors,
he said. It takes months to analyse the
whole of Scotland, but with the Hydrobot
model it can be repeated as often as you like
in a fraction of the time.
There are many issues which people
regard as holding up the hydro development
process, Forrest said. Unsurprisingly,
market factors such as the cost of electricity
are a fundamental influence this is one
reason why hydro development has been
Hydro studies
The Scottish Hydropower Resource Study was
carried out on behalf of the Scottish government
to assist the hydro sub group for the Forum for
Renewable Energy Development in Scotland
(FREDS). It was carried out by Nick Forrest
Associates in close co-operation with the
Scottish Institute of Sustainable Technology and
Black & Veatch. It was funded by the
governments renewables policy team.
The Scottish Hydropower Resource Study is
available online at:
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Business-
Industry/Energy/19185/FREDSHydroResStudy
Table 1: Total and financially viable potential hydropower schemes in Scotland,
using HydroBots baseline scenario (source: Scottish Hydropower Resource Study 2008)
Total number Total potential Total potential annual Financially Financially viable Financially viable annual New dams
of schemes power (kW) energy (MWh) viable schemes power (KW) energy (MWh)
36,252 2,593,317 10,644,403 1019 657,259 2,766,682 128
Full stream ahead for
small hydro
Small hydro is the way ahead for the future,
according to Iain Wotherspoon, head of Green
Highland, a specialist in small scale hydro
schemes. He says that the advantages are so
attractive that there are now a total of seven
separate small hydro schemes being proposed
in Glenlyon, in the heart of Perthshire, Scotland.
Wotherspoon inherited a 1930s hydro scheme
when he bought Glenlyon House five years ago.
The scheme has a miniature dam high above
the valley and a 2.4km iron pipe leading to a
small generator house. The scheme is hardly
noticeable in the impressive Highland scenery
and has no impact on the River Lyon.
Wotherspoon put in a modern system, assuming
that the scheme would pay for itself within five
years. In fact, the new 900kW system cost
around 750,000 (US$1.1M) but the payback
period was only three years and the scheme
now earns revenue of around 300,000
(US$447,000) a year in sales of power to
Scottish and Southern Electricity.
After experiencing first hand how beneficial
renewable energy technology can be,
Wotherspoon set up his own renewable energy
company in early 2008. Caledon Green is a
specialist in renewable energy for the land
management and property sectors, and Green
Highland is the subsidiary now working to
promote small scale hydro in Scotland.
For more information log onto
www.greenhighland.co.uk
As IWP&DC went to press the Scottish
government announced the go ahead for two
more Scottish hydro schemes:
The 3.5MW Black Rock scheme is located near
Evanton in Ross-shire and was proposed by RWE
Npower in December 2006.
The 2.5MW scheme on the Allt Coire Chaorach,
near Crianlarich was proposed in March 2007 by
Scottish and Southern Energy.
The two new projects will be capable of providing
power for over 3500 homes.
The new study was commissioned to provide an
assessment of potential hydro power in Scotland
14 JANUARY 2009 INTERNATIONAL WATER POWER & DAM CONSTRUCTION
INSIGHT
Previously, Forrest added, it may have
been hard to justify spending time and
resources changing the planning framework
when the benefits are unclear. We are hope-
ful now that the results of the study will
encourage local and central government to
further improve the planning process.
Steps have already been taken in the right
direction. The Scottish government has com-
mitted to process planning applications
within nine months where there is no need
for a public enquiry. However, Forrest cau-
tioned, we hope that the nine month target
will not be achieved by simply shifting the
point at which an application is declared
received, rather than speeding up the
planners own processes.
Energy Minister Jim Mather added that
the FREDS hydro sub group is looking at
further opportunities and barriers facing
the sector. It will be making recommenda-
tions to the Scottish government within the
early part of this year. Forrest hopes that
these will include one important recom-
mendation to ensure the future success of
new hydro development. We must press
the government to develop a transmission
and distribution network that can handle
the renewable energy that Scotland is ready
to produce, he said.
ECONOMIC GROWTH
From recent calculations it appears, helped
by hydro, that Scotland is more than ready
to meet its renewable energy targets. I can
safely say that our first ambitious renew-
ables target will be met, First Minister Alex
Salmond said recently.
Thirty six renewable project applica-
tions, totalling 2.5GW, are currently before
the Scottish governments energy consents
unit. Nine of these are for a total of 25MW
of hydro.
Current installed renewables capacity in
Scotland totals 2.8GW. Most consented
projects will be operating by 2011, and with
time for more projects to still come forward,
the government is confident it will be well
on course to meet the target of 5GW.
Scotlands First Minister has his eye on the
future. The legacy of Scottish hydro will
extend into the future, he said. There might
be ten times as many hydro projects coming
through in the next few years.
Referring to the 100MWGlendoe project
scheduled to be open in spring 2009, the
Energy Minister said that, although this will
make a magnificent contribution to
Scotlands renewables capacity, we are
unlikely to see much in the way of further
large scale hydro development.
But there is huge untapped potential
and a sustainable and profitable future in
smaller and micro hydro schemes, he said.
Each scheme would have to be assessed on
its own merits, but if we can turn the tap
on to new hydro power we can tackle
climate change and continue to stimulate
economic growth.
Economic growth is also on Nick
Forrests mind in the current financial cli-
mate. This report should offer comfort to
the construction industry whose reduced
workload in the housing sector may be
slightly offset by an increase in the renew-
ables industry, he said. With over 1000
financially viable hydro schemes in the
small bracket (up to 5MW), there is a lot
of potential.
HYDRO LEGACY LIVES ON
Scotlands hydro heyday can be traced back
to the 1950s and 1960s. Over 50 years later
its future has never looked brighter. Scotlands
hydro power legacy is set to live on. As the
countrys First Minister said: I think hydro
power is the most successful form of power
generation in Scottish history. IWP&DC
Scotland has huge untapped potential for small and
micro hydro schemes, although there is unlikely to
be further large hydro development
INSIGHT
A
LSTOM has chosen India to
establish its first research and
development centre outside
Europe and it has good reasons.
With a total installed capacity of more than
36,000MW, and an estimated untapped
potential of over 130,000MW for hydro
power, India is one of the biggest actual and
potential markets in Asia.
Philippe Cochet, president of Alstom
Hydro, a joint venture between Alstomand
Bouygues, has said that, by focusing on the
specific issues of the Indian hydro market,
the new centre will enable the company to
develop highly innovative [and] integrated
products and technologies.
The company has established a technolo-
gy centre with 11 engineers (and increasing)
at Alstoms factory in the western Indian
town of Vadodara, in the western Indian
state of Gujurat, and houses a test labora-
tory for a scale model of a Pelton ring.
Though most of the Indian hydro power
plants use Francis turbines, where head fall
is between 50m and 400m, experts say that
Pelton turbines could play an important
role in the future of the Indian hydro
power industry.
The Himalayas are the source of many
perennial rivers that carry huge quantities of
water across the sub-continent and at many
places provide an opportunity of harnessing
a head fall of more than 400m, an ideal set-
ting for a Pelton turbine.
To achieve a stabilised national grid,
which unfortunately India does not have, it
is important to harness maximumpower at
a single point through big hydro projects,
says Shivendra Nath Verma, chief engineer
of Indias National Hydro Power
Corporation (NHPC).
In India there is a wide variation in the
peak and off-peak demand of electricity,
leading to major frequency fluctuations in
the grid. This requires power plants to be
shut down and restarted at short notice of
five to 10 minutes, and the Indian govern-
ment thinks the best way to check these fluc-
tuations is through the control of big hydro
power plants.
NHPC, a government company operating
13 projects totalling 5175MW with a fur-
ther 11 plants under construction expected
to add 4622MW also happens to be the
biggest customer of hydro power equip-
ments in the country. Its largest project the
2000MW Subansiri Lower hydroelectric
power plant in the north-eastern states of
Assamand Arunachal Pradesh has Alstom
turbines, generators, digital governing
system and main inlet valve.
In the central and southern regions of the
country, small hydro projects 5 to 25 MW
generation capacity use Kaplan turbines,
while on the slow moving rivers power is
generated through bulb turbines.
Experts say that hydro power
could get a huge push if Indian
policy makers allocate
resources based on pure
merit and without politi-
cal interference. A
senior government offi-
cial related to the
hydro power industry
told IWP&DC that in
the past an undue
emphasis has been given
to thermal power plants
because leaders want the
WWW.WATERPOWERMAGAZINE.COM JANUARY 2009 15
investment to go into their political con-
stituencies and produce results within the
five-year term of their office. Most hydro
power projects have a longer gestation
period and their locations are restricted due
to geographical reasons.
Things are not easy for private investors
either. Dr Rajeshwer Prasad Saini, Associate
Professor at the Alternate Hydro Energy
Centre of Indian Institute of Technology
Roorkee, said that the Himalayan foothill
state of Uttarakhand holds a huge potential
of hydro but due to the lack of clear policy
and related laws, there is uncertainty and
private investors are reluctant to come for-
ward. Hydro projects last for 30-40 years,
but there is no provision for an increase in
the price for generated power that is bought
by state governments at INDRupees 2
(US$0.04 cents) to INDRupees 3 (US$0.06
cents) per KW-hour, he said.
Private investors are also reluctant to
invest in a hydro project when they are in
remote locations and therefore require extra
funds to build supporting infrastructure,
such as link roads and the long transmission
network connecting the grid.
Furthermore, Himalayan rivers such as
the Ganges, Yamuna and Indus contain huge
quantities of mud and sand which leads to
early corrosion of turbines blades, which
causes frequent operational problems. The
composition of this silt is different at differ-
ent places, thus requiring specific measures
to deal with the problem, depending on the
location of a plant.
At its Vadodara centre, Alstomhas estab-
lished a silt abrasion test-rig laboratory to
carry out research on new technical solu-
tions to this problem.
Presently it is testing the resistance of the
specialist soft coating Neyrco and the High
Velocity Oxy-Fuel (HVOF) spray coating to
deal with the silt collected from various
Indian rivers.
Out of 3000 Alstomemployees in the coun-
try mostly engineers 900 are based in
Vadodara, which can annually produce equip-
ment to generate 1600MW of
power. It has Indias largest (112
tonnes/250 MW) turbine
runner and it can produce
1700 electric bars per
month.
The company is going
to install the 240 MW
Lower Jurala hydroelec-
tric plant in the central
Indian state of Andhra
Pradesh, with the equip-
ment being designed and
produced at its Vadodara
unit the turbine designs are
currently being tested.
Alstom is working hard to tap into Indias major hydro
power market, writes Raghavendra Verma
Expanding research in India
IWP&DC Hooped Pelton runner
16 JANUARY 2009 INTERNATIONAL WATER POWER & DAM CONSTRUCTION
SEISMIC ANALYSIS
T
ALAS-FERGANAis a 700kmlong fault line in Kyrgyzstan,
Central Asia. Although familiar to geologists little is known
about this particular fault, except that it exhibits geologi-
cal characteristics similar to the San-Andreas fault line in
the US. Indications fromKyrgyzstan are that it has the potential for
an earthquake of similar intensity to those that occurred on San-
Andreas in 1857 and 1906.
We now know that the Talas-Fergana fault has a long history of
activity with the last faulting event occurring recently in geological
terms, approximately 400-500 years ago, says Derek Rust a geolo-
gist at the University of Portsmouth in the UK. The longer the period
of time since the last ground rupturing earthquake, the greater the
next earthquake is likely to be. Another event is inevitable. Its just
a case of when.
One factor will make the potential consequences of the next earth-
quake even more catastrophic. The Talas-Fergana fault line cuts
across Toktogul, the largest hydroelectric and irrigation scheme in
Central Asia.
UNDER STRAIN
The Toktogul project is a 1200MW scheme with a 230m high dam
impounding a 20km
3
reservoir. It provides power and irrigation
water to Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Russia.
The countries competing demands for power and water mean that
Toktogul is already the focus of cross-border tensions. The scheme
is considered to be vital for the regions economic, social and agri-
cultural stability. Disruption could be catastrophic, putting the coun-
tries already fragile economies at risk, provoking civil unrest, and
providing opportunities for the regions extremist groups to exploit
the resulting disorder.
These are Central Asian countries that used to be together in the
Soviet Union, Rust explains. Now they are all independent and
relationships can be strained. For example, over 75%of Kyrgyzstan
is mountainous terrain over 2000m high. It is very cold and there
are high power demands for heating in the winter. So at the end of
the summer, high water levels are required for the reserve of power.
In contrast, Rust adds, downstream Uzbekistans prime interest is
irrigation. So it needs high water levels for use in the summer. There
are major competing interests here and if this scheme was to fail
through seismic activity it could be catastrophic.
Compounding this situation are 23 uraniummining waste dumps
in the region. Kyrgyzstan was the chief uraniummining area for the
Soviet Union; while earlier gold mining left a legacy of mercury rich
mine tailings. Both these are vulnerable to seismically triggered land-
slides and the sudden release of water. Furthermore, over 10M
people live in the most threatened area downstream from Toktogul
in the Fergana Valley.
The violent ground shaking associated with a great earthquake
on the Talas-Fergana would be expected to generate significant land-
sliding in this mountainous region. This is what happened with the
Sichuan earthquake in China in 2008, Rust explains. Landslide
masses entering the reservoir have the potential for generating dam-
aging tsunami effects. Outside the reservoir it is likely that landslide-
dammed lakes would be created, as in Sichuan. These have the
potential for sudden release of impounded waters causing flooding
downstream, and possible mobilisation of the uranium mine waste
dumps. Existing landslide-dammed lakes, probably associated with
past great earthquakes, also have the potential to be breached in the
event of a new earthquake.
Understanding the real threats to the environmental security of
this region, and finding ways to mitigate against these, is crucial to
avoiding conflicts over water and power supplies, and avoiding
extensive pollution of vital lands, Rust adds.
Fighting the fear of failure
A NATO Science for Peace project will assess the geo-environmental security of Toktogul
hydroelectric station, the largest hydro plant in Central Asia. Suzanne Pritchard spoke
with NATO project director Derek Rust to find out more
WWW.WATERPOWERMAGAZINE.COM JANUARY 2009 17
SCIENCE FOR PEACE
Toktogul hydro project is now the focus of NATOs Science for
Peace project. Rust is the country project director and over a three-
year period his teamwill research the geo-environmental security of
Toktogul. They will examine existing seismic data and gather new
information from satellite sensing imagery, aerial photography,
radiocarbon dating of geological features and use portable seis-
mometers.
Ours will be the first seismic hazard assessment of the Toktogul
region, says Rust. He explains that due to the hydro schemes posi-
tioning on border territory between the former Soviet Union and
China, the area was previously out of bounds to western scientists.
Little research was done by the Russians as, when Toktogul was built
in the 1960s, the countrys mainstream geology establishment had
actively dismissed the appreciation of plate tectonics. Consequently
the significance of the Talas-Fergana fault line went unrecognised.
We are not directly studying the engineering integrity of the dam
itself, says Rust, but rather the implications of seismic activity on
the reservoir and surrounding region. A breach of the dam would
be a catastrophic event. So we will recommend mitigation measures
to reduce these hazards and emphasise avoiding potential hazards
in the future by wise planning. Although it is too early to say yet if
we will suggest more active measures to reduce risk.
To minimise seismic effects the research teamwill anticipate which
reservoir slopes may fail and will be able to map these. They can also
anticipate run-off from disturbing water in the reservoir through
tsunami effects, while a better understanding of which uranium
dumps are most vulnerable to ground shaking will be invaluable.
Further active measures could include avoiding reservoir areas prone
to run-up, dewatering slopes and providing good drainage to reduce
the likelihood of failure.
INVALUABLE RESEARCH
Researchers from the University of Milan-Bicocca in Italy, and the
National Seismological Institutes of Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan,
started work on the Science for Peace project in October 2008. Upon
completion, the main findings of the study will be presented to the
governments of the affected countries in 2011. Project director Derek
Rust has nothing but praise for the NATO initiative and the way it
has embraced his work.
We think that this kind of project at Toktogul is invaluable, but
it does not immediately fit with some of the established funding
agencies, he concludes. The fact that NATO promoted the politi-
cal and scientific benefits of this project is fantastic.
For more information contact the NATO country project
director, Derek Rust, School of Earth and Environmental
Sciences, University of Portsmouth, UK. Email:
derek.rust@port.ac.uk
SEISMIC ANALYSIS
NATO funds Science for Peace
The NATO Science for Peace programme dates back to 1956 when the
importance of political, economic and scientific factors was highlighted in
relation to international security. The programme continues with its aims of
enhancing security, stability and solidarity through increased collaboration
and networking amongst countries.
Derek Rust and his team succeeded in securing 250,000 of NATO funding
for their project. Any person can apply for a NATO grant who is expert in their
field for which they are applying. Applications can also be made by individual
scientists.
Topics funded by NATO include:
Food security.
Environmental security with implications for economic, cultural and political
instability.
Water resources management.
Disaster forecast and prevention.
Preventing conflicts in relation to scarcity of resources.
Non-traditional threats to security.
The deadlines for grant applications in 2009 are 1 March, 1 June and 1 November.
For more information on the Science for Peace programme log onto
www.nato.int/science/index.html or email science@hq.nato.int
Modelling Sichuan
There is generally increasing awareness of
geological hazards, such as those associated
with earthquakes, says Derek Rust from the
University of Portsmouth in the UK, mentioning
recent events such as the Indian Ocean
tsunami on 26 December 2004.
The Sichuan earthquake occurred in China in
May 2008 and it is of great interest to Rusts
research team. The earthquake measured 7.8
on the Richter scale and, most importantly,
created around 30 landslide dammed lakes.
The Sichuan earthquake occurred in a
geologically similar setting, Rust said. It
provides a model for the potential
consequences of a similar earthquake on the
Talas-Fergana fault.
A major earthquake on a mountainous region is
very likely to produce large landslides. Rusts
team can only help to minimise the effects of
this. We can estimate long term slip rates on
big faults and their patterns of behaviour, he
said. But exact earthquake prediction is the
elusive holy grail of earthquake geology.
Photograph shows Yinxiu Town, wenchuan
County, epicentre of the Sichuan earthquake
IWP&DC
18 JANUARY 2009 INTERNATIONAL WATER POWER & DAM CONSTRUCTION
SEISMIC ANALYSIS
system of discontinuities hereinafter called joints. In the latter event,
the deformations of discontinuities may occur in two directions
either perpendicular to the plane of discontinuity including aperture,
or possible slip along discontinuity. It may even be both. The first
deformation is a non-linear function of change of stress perpendic-
ular to the plane joints. In the event of fracture aperture, local break-
ing of a quasi half space of lithosphere occurs. Discontinuity aperture
occurs when, as a result of a change of stress, the stress oriented per-
pendicular to the discontinuity tends to become tensile.
Stress field in the earths upper crust is produced as a result of
gravitation, tectonic activities (including diapirism), and tempera-
ture changes. Stress field is represented by principal stresses and tra-
jectories of principle maximum stress. Principle stresses in
lithosphere, as a rule, increase with depth.
Stress field in tectonically active areas of the earths crust observed
over time is exposed to changes i.e. it is variable and beyond our
control. Location, scope and speed of these changes for a given
lithosphere zone and its geo-mechanical characteristics depend on
tectonic processes as well as changes of exogenous factors to which
it may be exposed (soil erosion, thawing of rock glacier formations,
change of hydrostatic pressure, activation of landslides, impound-
ing of man made reservoirs etc).
Variation of stress fields in the earths crust is accompanied by cor-
responding deformations and displacements (including its upper
zone) as well as potential changes (local) of its deformation charac-
teristics. The latter changes may occur on a local or regional level,
with even or uneven distribution (or both) along discontinuities.
Displacements in the earths crust may also occur without a signifi-
cant change of stress field (creeping, slipping etc).
Changes in stress fields occur irregularly with variable intensity,
and with or without discernible dynamic effects (earthquakes). In
zones crossing trajectories of tectonic driving forces, variation of
stress fields and associated deformations may be rather divergent
and unpredictable.
Variations in stress field and deformations taking place in the
upper zone of the earths crust may be modified by dam site mor-
phology. Variation may include residual stress relief with associat-
ed deformations and dynamic effects. These changes may occur as
a result of endogenous and/or exogenous processes.
In the event that a change of external (exogenous) load in the earth
crust coincides with tectonic activities, additional effects associated
with their interaction may occur. Impounding and emptying of man-
made reservoirs, as well as large fluctuations of ground water tables,
may produce differential movement along discontinuities. The latter
occurrence is related to a decrease of contact stress.
Stress field changes and earth crust deformations occur with or
without differential movements along the existing and newly devel-
oped discontinuities. These may be accompanied by dynamic effects.
In zones with instable stress field conditions the change of external
(exogenous) load may induce additional tectonic effects with accom-
Analysing dam behaviour
Bosko J. Guzina analyses behavioural responses of dams
built in tectonically active or potentially active areas
V
ARIATION of stress fields and deformations in the zone
of the earths crust, which may or may not be accompa-
nied by apparent dynamic effects (earthquakes), are cre-
ated mostly due to tectonic activities. This phenomenon
may affect the dam via its foundation through interaction.
As the end of a dams operational life approaches, the occurrence
of stress field variations and deformations in the earth crust as well
as its cumulative effect on dam behaviour becomes more probable.
Observation is often necessary to monitor the behaviour of dams
and detect possible discrepancies, right from the design stage and
throughout the dams life. Early notification of changes, identifica-
tion of their origin, prognosis for further development, and the effect
on dam safety is of particular importance.
Determining the actual causes of induced changes in dam behav-
iour particularly if observed in the early stage may prove to be a
rather complex multidisciplinary task.
The changes which could occur in the dam may be related to:
Changes of physical and mechanical properties of dams, their
bedrock or both.
Endogenous processes that took place in the lithosphere and then
through bedrock were transferred to dam itself (tectonic activities).
Changes or anomalies in dam behaviour could be similar in both
cases mentioned above and both issues are addressed in this paper.
As anomalies in dam foundation behaviour related to endogenous
activities often develop and occur intermittently, they are usually
identified only after a period of dam use when damage has already
occurred on a dam or its appurtenant structures.
This paper is intended to help facilitate early discovery and iden-
tification of the second phenomenon listed above, and its effects on
dam foundation behaviour. In addition, it is intended to encourage
the upgrading and modernisation of monitoring systems, and meth-
ods of interpreting the data.
VARIATION OF STRESS FIELDS AND DEFORMATIONS
IN THE EARTHS CRUST
The present analysis considers the earths crust as a heterogeneous
(quasi) half -space divided into matrix blocks by grid discontinuities.
Discontinuities are mainly represented by ruptures resulting from
tectonic actions and other loadings, or their variations. Each of the
two elements of half-space (matrix and discontinuities) are charac-
terized by their specific geo-mechanical properties affecting defor-
mation and stress field of the earths crust i.e. their response to the
action of exogenous and endogenous processes.
In the earths crust, surface stress fields may prove rather uneven
and are governed by morphology, temperature changes etc. Variation
of deformations in the crust or rocks as a result of the variation of
loading are related to the deformation of block matrices and of a
Mosul dam, Iraq
WWW.WATERPOWERMAGAZINE.COM JANUARY 2009 19
panying deformation and dynamic effects.
With the exception of large-scale earthquakes, the variation of
deformations in the earths crust often remains unnoticed. They are
observed primarily in lengthy constructions such as roads and tun-
nels where they are often attributed to soil instability, temperature
changes and other influences. Standard geodetic methods, besides
levelling, are often not helpful in identifying deformations in the
earths crust of endogenous origin.
Vertical movements in the superficial zone of the earths crust may
be related to a change of external loading with or without an induc-
tion of tectonic influence on the variation of tectonic loading.
ALTERATIONS IN PIEZOMETRIC HEAD
Alterations of piezometric head field within the aquifer associated
with variations of stress field and deformations in the earths crust
are the subject of the present study. Here the aquifer denotes a part
of the earths crust with hydraulically potentially active porosity
filled with water i.e., a permeable rock zone saturated with water
and with a degree of permeability that allows water to be withdrawn
or injected.
Transient changes of piezometric head fields may occur as the
result of active tectonic processes, fluctuations of barometric pres-
sure, gravitational forces as well as the influence of other loadings
on lithosphere.
For a given change of loading, alterations of piezometric head
fields are governed by a type of aquifer as well as the type and char-
acteristics of its hydraulically active porosity.
In this respect we may distinguish the following aquifer types:
Unconfined or semi confined aquifer whose upper surface is in
direct contact with atmospheric pressure.
Completely confined aquifer with no direct contact with atmos-
pheric pressure.
When a change of tectonic loading occurs, the groundwater in the
aquifer takes over a part of the loading. Water retained in joints takes
over a part of joints systemloading while water held in spongy poros-
ity replaces a part of the rock matrix loading. In unconfined aquifers,
the partial take-over of varied tectonic stresses is temporary.
In unconfined (open) aquifers, the change of tectonic load in the
aquifer zone results in a temporary change of the piezometric head
gradients and migration of water towards free surface, or vice versa,
and through hydraulically active porosity. The latter migration of
water lasts until the initial changed state of piezometric head fields
within the hydraulically active porosity has been established. During
the latter process the stress field in the rock matrix and contact stress
in the joints system is finally established all this assuming there
were no changes of hydrological conditions (inflow or outflow of
water) in the aquifer.
Amplitude and duration of temporary changes in the piezometric
head field depends on:
Magnitude and temporal course of the change of tectonic load
(velocity).
Geometry, hydraulic characteristics and aquifer boundary conditions,
Deformation characteristics of joint system porosity.
Somewhat accelerated short-termchanges of piezometric head field
may be expected in the event of earthquake.
Additional (partially) reversible deformations in lithosphere occur
as a result of a piezometric head field transient alteration. Pertinent
displacements last until a stationary state of piezometric head field
is established and final deformation of the lithosphere related to a
change of tectonic load of fractured half-space has taken place.
In confined aquifers the change of tectonic loads simultaneously
entails a permanent alteration of piezometric head fields, except in
the event of a hydraulic break through overlaying impervious layer.
The latter may occur in the event of an increase of tectonic load
when the aquifer hydrostatic pressure to the overlaying strata
exceeds geostatic pressure.
Closed point piezometers with automatic continuous pressure
recording are the preferred choice to monitor the potential impact
of stress field variations. In certain cases multi-level monitoring (at
various borehole depths) is a suitable method for recording piezo-
metric head.
Piezometers should be placed on both sides of the structure to
monitor potentially active faults. In limestone aquifers, piezometers
should also be placed belowthe zone of intensive karstification. For
confined or semi confined aquifers, open air piezometers or piezome-
ters with as narrowa stand pipe as possible (placed above the aquifer
covering layer) could be used to reduce the piezometers inertia.
Use of piezometers as mentioned above should make it possible
to identify, and predict, the presence of stress fields variations in the
lithosphere in zones with hydraulically effective porosity filled with
water. This would also involve continuous automatic recording of
piezometric head and with exclusion of hydrologic influences.
Earthquakes are preceded by an alteration of stress fields in the
corresponding part of the lithosphere. Depending on the velocity of
these changes in the aquifers, they are accompanied by correspond-
ing changes of piezometric head fields. The latter implies an earth-
quake itself as well as a period which follows the earthquake when
the changes which occur are of highest intensity. This means that
variation of piezometric fields may either be considered as a predic-
tion and/or a consequence of an earthquake.
When there is an alteration of piezometric heads associated with
the change of tectonic load, the contact stresses induced along some
discontinuities may, over time, temporarily reduce or follow these
changes. The latter may further induce differential displacements
along the discontinuities with or without apparent dynamic effects.
VARIATION OF INTERACTION BETWEEN THE
DAM AND THE FOUNDATION BEDROCK
The dam foundation bedrock represents the upper surface of the
lithosphere and, together with the dam, participates in stress field
variations and deformations occurring in the earth crust as a result
of tectonic activities .
The term dam in this paper implies all appurtenant facilities
including screens, grout curtains, drainage systems, water intakes,
discharge or spillway bodies, adjacent hydro power plants etc. The
variation of interaction of endogenous origin implies the variation
of state of stress and deformations along the dam foundation joint
induced by the stress field variations in the zone around the dam.
Following the change of interaction, the dam may not show any
noticeable signs of damage for a considerable time.
For a certain change of stress field and deformations in the lithos-
phere, the change of interaction and subsequent effects on the dam
depend on, but are not limited to:
Morphology of the river valley.
Characteristics of stress field in the upper part of the lithosphere
in the dam zone.
Geological and geo-mechanical characteristics of the dam foun-
dation.
Dam structure and layout.
Original in situ state of stress field in the dam bedrocks.
Combination of the above factors.
Lithosphere deformations of endogenous origin may develop in the
dam zone with or without differential displacements along discon-
tinuities in rock, including their aperture which may or may not be
accompanied with creation of new fractures.
Differential displacements along discontinuities may be
unfavourable for concrete dams founded on hard rock. In the case
of concrete gravity dams constructed in extremely deformable
bedrocks, the influence of the interaction could possibly end at foun-
dation bedrock plastic deformations entailing a change in stresses
in the damto certain extent, but without any mechanical damage to
the structure.
SEISMIC ANALYSIS
20 JANUARY 2009 INTERNATIONAL WATER POWER & DAM CONSTRUCTION
The variation of interaction may affect the integrity and safety of
concrete dams founded partially or fully in hard fractured rock. In
this case the dam could represent an obstacle for undisturbed defor-
mation of lithosphere surface and could be exposed to significant
loads by means of interaction which it would not be able to bear
without deformations and structural damage. The latter is particu-
larly the case for dams constructed in canyons.
The change of interaction may also affect grouting galleries of
earthfill dams and grout curtains or screens. This would happen if
the change of stress field in the lithosphere results in a widening of
the river valley at the dam site followed by the aperture of disconti-
nuities. The latter case could prove rather risky for dams of any type
founded in erodible rocks and more so in case of the presence of sol-
uble rocks in dam bedrocks.
Due to a change of interaction of endogenous origin, deforma-
tions and displacement along the foundation joint are possible in all
directions regardless of deformations associated with hydrostatic
pressure against the dam.
A very complex state of displacements and deformations may
develop in dams founded in geo-mechanically heterogeneous
bedrocks.
In the case of arch dams constructed in steep canyons, differential
displacements between the blocks of rocks at the flanks of a dam
may not affect the structure for some time.
The effect of stress field variation and deformations in lithosphere
of endogenous origin to the change of interaction is usually identi-
fied only after a longer period of observation at dams. During a
structures lifetime, the changes of interaction may re-occur several
times, and not always in the same direction. However any damage
or degradation is cumulative.
Early identification of the presence of interaction changes in a dam
foundation is not an easy task. More so as such effects often resem-
ble those associated with exogenous influences, including weathering.
ANOMALIES IN FOUNDATION BEDROCK BEHAVIOUR
Anomalies in dam foundation behaviour may indicate changes of
stress field and deformations in the lithosphere of endogenous origin.
In this paper the dam foundation behaviour implies variations of
stresses, deformations and displacements, as well as piezometric
head field in dam bedrocks and water elevation in the reservoir.
The anomaly of dam foundation behaviour denotes unexpected
changes related to:
Permanent displacements and deformations of dam foundation
exceeding the anticipated values.
Permanent change of the function: displacement and dam foun-
dation deformation versus water elevation in the reservoir i.e. its
external loading.
Unexpected temporary or permanent changes of piezometric head
field in the dam bedrock as well as the amount and pattern of per-
colating water.
When determining the presence of anomalies it is first necessary to
determine and eliminate possible errors in measurements and read-
ings as well as data obtained by means of defective or poorly cali-
brated monitoring equipment.
As a majority of the listed anomalies may be a result of endoge-
nous and exogenous factors, the present paper gives a summary of
the anomalies for each factor individually. The aim of the summa-
ry is to determine the presence of stress field variation and defor-
mations in a dam of tectonic origin and to recognize their possible
influence on the structure and its foundation.
ANOMALIES OF EXOGENOUS ORIGIN
Water acts on dam bedrocks through hydrostatic pressure. The dis-
tribution of load which the dam transfers to the bedrock depends
on the type of dam, its structure and layout, geo-mechanical char-
acteristics of the bedrock itself and the initial in situ state of stress
in dam bedrocks. Direct hydraulic load on the foundation depends
on the established piezometric head field which may be significant-
ly affected by sealing and drainage works in dam foundation
bedrocks and their hydraulic effects.
Permanent dam foundation deformations
Permanent deformations on the foundation may also be related to
the rock matrix. Over time, permanent deformations of fractured
rock under the influence of cyclic loading increase with a progres-
sive decrease of yield (except for the case of dam failure).
In the system of joints when a dam external loading is known, per-
manent deformation depends on joint morphology, presence of joint
filling and its geo-technical characteristics. An increase of perma-
nent deformations may also occur in the event of joint filling mate-
rial being washed out, resulting in permanent squeezing of fractures.
Permanent alteration of piezometric head fields
Changes in piezometric head fields may be associated with:
Clogging of joint system.
Degrading grout curtain and joint system in dam bedrocks.
Dissolution or erosion of foundation rock matrix.
Clogging of drainage system (in bedrocks of a dam).
Permanent changes of piezometric fields and seepage of water
through the dam bedrocks as a rule occur gradually and may com-
mence at any time during operation of the dam.
Degrading of grout curtains is associated with grout wash out
from the joint system or its original filling in the grout curtain zone.
In certain cases the resistance of grout mass to wash out may even
initially be low or it may get lower over time due to associated phys-
ical and chemical processes.
ANOMALIES AS A RESULT OF ENDOGENOUS FACTORS
In this case, possible anomalies depend on stress field variations and
deformations in the lithosphere in a wider dam zone, as well as on
associated variation of interaction between the dam structure and
its bedrock. The general characteristics of anomalies in this case are
that they occur generally regardless of the external loading of the
dam. Those anomalies occur mainly sporadically and may be initi-
ated during construction of the dam. They are usually identified only
in an advanced stage.
Permanent displacement and deformations of dam bedrocks
One of the essential characteristics of those movements and defor-
mations is that changes may occur in all directions regardless of the
orientation of the direction of active loading against dam bedrocks.
The movements and deformations occur cumulatively and may
change both orientation and direction during the lifetime of the dam.
Although the dam bedrock deformations generally follow trajecto-
ries of the maximum principle stress variation in the lithosphere, the
relevant change of interaction in the foundation may prove very het-
erogeneous.
Deformation changes in earth fill dam bedrocks may be identified
through the use of strain gauges placed in the clay core close to foun-
dation as well as through deformations and movements in a grout-
ing gallery, should it exist.
Those deformations may occur as differential displacements of
matrix blocks along discontinuities and as apertures of discontinu-
ities governed by the previous state of stress field in dam foundation
bedrocks (the latter may be first anticipated in the dam abutment).
Change of deformation characteristics in the foundation
Deformations of fractured (quasi) half-space consist of deformations
of rock matrix and those of the fracture system. The relation
between strain and stress with joint system is a non-linear function.
Subsequently, if a change of stress field and deformations in the dam
bedrock due to tectonic action occurs, it would then result in a
change in the dam foundation deformation characteristics.
SEISMIC ANALYSIS
WWW.WATERPOWERMAGAZINE.COM JANUARY 2009 21
Changes in the dam static foundation model
As a joint system in dam bedrocks cannot withstand tensile stresses
when there is hydraulic loading, the dam bedrocks may behave as:
a) Half-space
b) Quarter-space
c) Combination of a) and b) but governed by prevailing in situ state
of normal stresses in joints and water elevations in the reservoir.
In the event of case a above, hydraulic loading transferred from the
dam, as well as that which directly acts against bedrocks, will be
accepted by the wider rock area below and around the dam. In the
event of case b, hydraulic loading will accept only the rock belowthe
dam (or clay core at earthfill dams) and downstream from the dam.
In the event of case c, with the change of water elevation in the reser-
voir the static model of foundation may be changed froma via b to c.
In the event of a change of stress field in dam bedrocks resulting
from endogenous (tectonic) processes, changes may occur in the
static model of the dam.
Permanent changes of piezometric head field and water seepage
Change of stress field in dam bedrocks will result in the change of
deformations of the joint system and subsequently the change of
hydraulic characteristics of bedrock. The grouting curtain is also
subject to deformations. As a consequence, a change of percolation
through dam bedrocks and an alteration of piezometric head field
entailing a change of hydraulic load of the system of joints in dam
bedrock would take place. Opening of joints crossing the curtain
may be accompanied by their wash out, furthering increasing per-
colation through dam bedrocks (the same as in the case of exoge-
nous loading). If a system for control and monitoring percolating
water has been provided below the dam, it could prove a more reli-
able indicator of changes in piezometric head field in dam founda-
tions than individual piezometers.
Permanent damage of the grouting curtain and associated effect
of the change of piezometric head field may also occur as a result of
propagation of seismic waves.
Transient alterations of piezometric head field
Transient alteration of piezometric head field in dam foundation is
a reliable indicator of the change and a sign of variation i.e. change
of stress field in the lithosphere in a wider dam zone. Those changes
may strongly affect the stability of concrete dams and, in particular,
arch dam abutments in the event of an improper or clogged drainage
system. The same implies for landslides in and around reservoirs.
Adifferentiation should be made between transient and short-term
changes of stress field associated with seismic waves propagation.
Deformations in dam bedrocks resulting from earthquakes
Seismic waves during earthquakes result in transient changes of
stress fields in the earth crust. In the zone around the earthquake
epicentre, transient as well as additional permanent deformations of
the existing and possibly newly formed discontinuities with perma-
nent additional change of stress field may be induced.
Possible additional permanent changes of interaction in the dam
foundation bedrock may also take place. These changes depend on
several factors such as river valley morphology, geo-mechanical char-
acteristics of bedrock (matrix and joint system), in situ state of stress
field in the bedrock and the type and structure of the dam.
FUTURE CONSIDERATIONS
It is obvious that for dams built in tectonically active areas there is
a high likelihood of the occurrence of such variations of stress field
and deformations in the earth crust that may affect the structure,
including its safety and operating life. Anomalies in dam foundation
behaviour are probable indicators of a change of stress field and
deformations in the lithosphere.
It is therefore essential to determine the presence of anomalies in
dam bedrocks, to predict their further development and analyze pos-
sible effects on dam integrity. Any rehabilitation measures should
of course take into account that identified anomalies could be asso-
ciated with endogenous (tectonic) or exogenous factors.
Identifying cause and origin of individual identified anomalies may
prove a rather complex task as they are similar in both processes.
For identifying early changes of stress field and deformation of
endogenous origin in dam bedrocks it is important that a proper
monitoring system with a high degree of accuracy and reliability is
established. The system and pertaining analysis of measurement
results is necessary to continuously innovate and upgrade during a
dams lifetime.
Particular attention should be given to establishing a corre-
sponding system for continuous automatic observation of piezo-
metric head field in dam bedrocks, as the unexpected transient
changes in piezometric head field may be regarded as a reliable indi-
cator of a change of stress field in bedrocks of endogenous origin.
When identifying anomalies in dam bedrock behaviour, it is nec-
essary to eliminate the possibility of defective monitoring equipment
and ensure accuracy of measurement.
Analysis of anomalies identified in dam foundation behaviour of
endogenous origin should include a prognosis of their further devel-
opment and possible influence on integrity and safety of the dam.
This could prove a very difficult task considering a wide spectrum
of possible solutions.
Assistance in solving the above problems should be subject of fur-
ther tectonophysics research, with investigations and studies updat-
ed throughout a dams life.
Bosko J. Guzina, Civil Engineer, 91, Jove Ilica street,
11000 Belgrade, 38000 Serbia. Tel: +381 11 2493179,
Email: salai.jelena6@gmail.com
SEISMIC ANALYSIS
References
1) Guzina B., Tucovic I. (1970) Some properties of elastic macro-
discontinuum in rock, Proceedings of the Second Congress of international
Society for rock Mechanics, Belgrade.
2) Pougatsch H. (1982) Unexpected behaviour of a large arch dam in
Switzerland, XIV Congress on large dams , Rio de Janeiro.
3) Alonso F.M., Gomez L.G., Romero H.J.L (1982) The hydraulic
auscultation as a monitoring test of dam safety, XIV Congress on large
dams, Rio de Janeiro, May 1982.
4) Mulargia F., Brocio V., Achilli V., Baldi P (1985) Evaluating a seismic
quiescence pattern in southeastern Sicily , Tectonophysics, Volume A16-
No341 - July 10.
5) Ziqiang L., Xiling C., Jiageng C., Zhang Zi L.J. (1985) Some
considerations on recent tectonic stress field of China, Tectonophysics,
Volume 117 No - August 1
6) Sir Alexander Gibs and Partners (1985) Independent Report on the
failure of earthwork instruments Mosul dam, London, March 1985
7) Guzina B., Obradovic J. (1988) Neotectonic impact on dam* foundation
sealing, XIV Congress on Large Dams, San Francisco.
8) Guzina B., Saric M., Petrovic N. (1991) Seepage and discolouration at
foundations of a dam* during the first impounding of the reservoir, XlV
Congress on Large Dams , Vienna.
9) Letica, V. (1998) Analysis of damages and repairs of the left side of
Bajina Basta Dam, R 28, XIX Congress on Large Dams, Florence.
10) Guzina B. (2000) Hydraulic loading of fissured porous rock, XX
Congress on large dams, Beijing
11) Energoprojekt. Results of piezometric observation for HE Piva-Mratinje
Dam for 2003
12) Bozovic A., Misic D. (2008) Monitoring of the state of stresses in the
body of Bajina Bata Dam , I Serbian Congress for Large Dams,
* Mosul Dam, Iraq
IWP&DC
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Innovative solutions.
For decades, HOCHTIEF Construction has been a reliable
partner for the construction of major national and international
projects, among others in the hydro power sector. Our competence
enables us to carry out complex projects from preconstruction
through to nal handover. Our many reference projects include the
Glendoe Hydro Scheme in the UK and the new La Conuencia Hydro
Power Project in Chile currently under construction.
Our services: Engineering and construction, planning, project
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Your contact: Tel.: +49 201 824-2531
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MAJOR INTERNATIONAL
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La Conuencia Hydro Power Project, Chile
WWW.WATERPOWERMAGAZINE.COM JANUARY 2009 23
PROJECT DEVELOPMENT
TUNNEL EXCAVATION
Six Sandvik DT series tunnelling jumbos will be used to excavate
the project tunnels. The jumbos will work together with three
Sandvik DC300 drilling rigs that are already on site.
The Sandvik drilling rigs and jumbos have been purchased by the
JV from Sandvik Chile in Santiago, and will be serviced on the site
by a teamof Sandvik personnel who will be based there for the dura-
tion of the project. The three Sandvik DC300 hydraulic, self-pro-
pelled drilling units have so far been used for stabilising the rock face
for the powerhouse excavation, where they have been drilling holes
for the benching.
The DC300 machines, specifically designed for operations such as
benching, are drilling 3.5mdeep holes using Sandvik R32 bench drilling
bits, sized at 38mm diameter and 64mm diameter, representing the
lower and upper range of drilling that the DC300 can undertake.
Blasting is being carried out daily, and the stabilisation will be
complete by the time the Sandvik jumbos begin tunnelling.
The six jumbos are all Sandvik DT 720C units, and will be work-
ing on the two main tunnels, the surge chamber, and other tunnelling
work on the project. Built on diesel-driven carriers, they are electro-
hydraulically powered and equipped with two booms designed for
extremely fast rock drilling across a maximumcross-section of 70m
2
,
and will be working at a maximumheight of 7mand width of 11m.
The jumbos will mainly be equipped with Sandvik R32 drilling
tools of 45mmdiameter, fitted with nine-button RT300 bits that will
be sharpened in the site workshop by Sandvik personnel; extending
the life cycle of each bit
In each of the two main tunnels, the DC300 rigs will follow the
jumbos to carry out the reinforcement drilling, using a Sandvik R32
drilling tool of 51mm diameter for the central hole on each section
and an R32 of 38mm for the surrounding holes. Once the rein-
forcement is done, the tunnel will be lined with shotcrete.
Otto Krahan says that despite the uncertainties relating to the type
of rock that will be encountered, the projected rate of tunnel advance
will be 9m per day, to be achieved in two cycles of drilling, blasting,
cleaning and reinforcing per 24-hour period. The construction period
for La Confluencia is expected to be three years, depending largely
upon the rock conditions encountered by the tunnellers.
www.sandvik.com
L
OCATED in the Tinguiririca Valley in the foothills of the
Chilean Andes, the 158MWLa Confluencia is a run-of-river
project involving the design and construction of a power-
house to install two turbines, approximately 19kmof tunnel
and two river diversions. The project which is expected to cost
US$350M is being developed by Tinguiririca Energia, an electric-
ity operating company made up of the Australian utility Pacific
Hydro and SN Power, a Norwegian venture of utility Statkraft and
the Norfund Power Invest AS fund. Main contractor on the project
is Hochtief-Tecsa Joint Venture.
La Confluencia is upstream of the La Higuera project, which is
also being developed by the Tinguiririca Energia. Although being
developed entirely separately of each other, the two projects are
designed to operate in cascade, and both can operate independent-
ly in the event of closure of either plant. It is expected that both pro-
jects will generate approximately 1400GWh annually.
La Confluencia is located on the Tinguiririca, Portillo and Azufre
rivers and consists of intakes and conveyance systems on two
branches diverting flows to a surface powerhouse.
The Portillo branch comprises a low weir and spillway on the
Portillo River at 1465masl. Water will pass through a desander and
short open channel before entering an 11km low-pressure tunnel
that runs to the surge chamber above the powerhouse at the con-
fluence of the Azufre and Tinguiririca rivers.
The Tinguiririca branch consists of a lowdiversion weir and spill-
way across the Tinguiririca River at 1450m asl that will divert par-
tial flows through a desander and short open channel to a regulation
pondage of 1.2Mm
3
live storage capacity.
Water fromthis will be taken via a 9.3kmlow-pressure tunnel that
joins the surge chamber above the powerhouse.
Both the Tinguiririca and Portillo branch tunnels will terminate
at a concrete lined vertical shaft dropping to the open-air power-
house via a concrete and steel lined high-pressure tunnel. Hochtief-
Tecsa JVplant manager Otto Krahan says that tunnelling forms the
dominant part of the works.
As the Andes are characterised by uplifted sedimentary, vol-
canogenic and intrusive units of highly variable nature, it has not
been possible to predict with certainty the rock conditions that the
contractor will find once tunnelling begins. Nonetheless, fast
progress is necessary and as there will be up to 10 active fronts in
the two tunnels during the greater part of the construction period,
the tunnels will require intensive management.
Six Sandvik DT series tunnelling jumbos
will be used by main contractor the
Hochtief-Tecsa Joint Venture for
excavating the tunnels on La Confluencia,
a run-of-river hydroelectric project being
built in the Chilean Andes
Playing a
jumbo role
IWP&DC
24 JANUARY 2009 INTERNATIONAL WATER POWER & DAM CONSTRUCTION
PROJECT DEVELOPMENT
RCC 08 also took the initiative in taking more of a teaching than a
presentation approach. As Shane Dunstan fromARANInternational
explained: We did not invite speakers to submit papers on a topic
of their choice. The aimof the seminar was to educate practitioners
and young engineers in the basic principles for designing and con-
structing RCCdams. When developing the programme we gathered
a group of international seasoned experts and together we devel-
oped a list of topics to be discussed. All presenters were encouraged
to present information free from bias and to draw on the broadest
range of design and construction practices possible.
RCC08 wanted to bring the dambuilding fraternity together for
educational purposes. On the one hand delegates and speakers are
M
ORE than 170 international delegates gathered in
Australia for a structured training seminar to discuss
specialist RCC dam techniques and new technology.
The purpose of RCC 08 was to help achieve better
quality and more cost-effective dams through greater awareness and
understanding. Topics under discussion included:
Tracing the history and evolution of RCC.
Avoiding costly and risky mistakes.
Finding better designs and methods.
Using the most appropriate equipment.
Knowing who to ask for help.
A specialist training seminar was held recently in Australia to educate practitioners and
young engineers on the design and construction of RCC dams
The lowdown
on RCC
competitors, but at seminars like this they are keen to share their
passion and experience of RCC dams with one other.
OPINIONS VERSUS PRINCIPLES
John Green knows all about competitiveness and is a specialist esti-
mator who has been involved in estimates for 17 RCCdams world-
wide. Were not in rocket science in RCC, he said. The good thing
is that RCC is still in its infancy. We have to be inventive. The real
fun part of the game is the competitive tendering. It spurs you on to
look for innovative solutions. For example I believe that the Chinese
have used cableways to place RCC and I have also worked on one
dam where we were very close to using recycled concrete.
With RCCyou have to avoid the tyranny of status quo. If youre
not careful youll find yourself with people who say its done like
this on that job and so you should do the same on this too. You have
the tremendous opportunity to be inventive, he told delegates.
WWW.WATERPOWERMAGAZINE.COM JANUARY 2009 25
When approaching an RCC project you must have an open mind.
Dont have pre-conceived notions.
Dave Murray, senior project manager for dams at Queensland
Water says that damowners dont have time for pre-conceived ideas.
We dont care about strongly held opinions, he said. We just look
at the best value for money. Strongly held opinions dont take us
anywhere as an owner.
You need to listen carefully and divide strongly held opinions from
soundly based principles, Trevor Dunston fromARANInternational
went on to tell delegates. Its up to you to split the difference.
TENDER INFORMATION
Worldwide, RCCis becoming the method of choice in damprojects
and it is a successful cost-effective solution. But, as John Green
emphasises, you must not settle for comfortable tendering on an
RCC project.
Every job is different and youve got to treat it differently. But
youve also got to set out to learn more about that project in a com-
petitive tender than anyone else knows, Green said. The general
philosophy to apply is to treat a big job as a small job and vice versa.
Give a small job the respect it deserves and dont be overwhelmed
by a big job. Youve got to be competitive. Making every effort to
take a dollar out is very important.
Pozzalan provides a good opportunity to be innovative when pric-
ing for an RCC project, but Green warns that you have to have the
time to develop it if using local resources. For example, in Asia rice
husk ash can be a good pozzalan, while volcanic ash, crushed brick
and fly ash can also be used.
Engineering terminology can also play a part in the cost-effec-
tiveness of a good RCCprojects. In general, when people talk about
RCCin engineering terminology they talk about compacted m
3
. To
me there is no such thing as m
3
in earthworks, Green says. He
believes that the precise nature of m
3
should be clarified. Australian
company ARANhas set the pace in their literature by talking about
compacted m
3
. The difference between compacted and loose m
3
in
RCCcan be as much as 20%, Green said. Ive even seen more than
that and this can make a big difference.
Having a model of a good check list when estimating the dura-
tion of the job can also make a difference. You need to establish all
factors and look at the job on its merits and use your judgement
when estimating, Green said, listing factors to include:
General operational efficiency.
Mechanical efficiency.
Learning curves.
Foundation delays as these are often so undulating.
Gallery restrictions can impact on productivity of the total system.
Finishing restrictions at the top of the damit becomes narrower and
so there is less roomfor equipment which affects work efficiency.
General placing delays.
PROJECT DEVELOPMENT
Above: Brain Forbes, manager of major dam projects at GHD, Australia
www. r i zzoassoc. com
DESlGN - /N/LYSlS - lNSFECIlCNS - CCNSIFUCIlCN M/N/GEMENI
CCFFCF/IE HE/DCU/FIEFS :: FiII:Lurgh, Fenn:y|vcnic, U.S.
Phone 011.412.856.9700 Fax 011.412.856.9749
ENGlNEEFlNG EXCELLENCE
Since 1984
PROUDLY
BUILDING ON
YEARS
OF RCC & DAM
CONSTRUCTION
EXPERIENCE.
2
5
WWW.WATERPOWERMAGAZINE.COM JANUARY 2009 27
Reverse factors or interruptions that can cause delays include:
Placing waterproof membranes.
Layer joints.
Wet weather delays (can include flooding).
Hot weather delays.
Programming delays.
Another important point Green covered was the handover of a pro-
ject from the project estimator to the construction people. It is
extremely important, he said. The estimator should insist on a
proper handover if you want your organisation to kick a good goal.
RCC DOWN UNDER
Keynote speaker, Graeme Newton, helped to give an Australian per-
spective on RCC dams. Newton is CEO of Queensland Water,
Infrastructure Pty. This is a specialised vehicle established by the
Queensland government to gain approval for and deliver major
water infrastructure projects to help solve the states water supply
crisis. Queensland currently has high level water restrictions.
Massive population growth over the past ten years combined with
a drought has compounded the need for building new dams. These
include the Traveston Crossing and Wyaralong dams, both of which
are likely to be built using RCC technology.
Traveston Crossing damon the Mary river is a proposed A$1.6B
structure. Currently still undergoing the relevant approval, con-
struction is due to start early this year with completion scheduled
for 2011. With a 153,000Ml capacity, it will contribute to 27% of
the additional water supply required by 2015 and supply enough
water for 800,000 people in southeast Queensland per day.
The project has been packaged to benefit large, mediumand small
firms within the construction sector and encourage and foster
growth in the industry. Market research has been commissioned to
gain a greater understanding of current market conditions and to
deliver a high performance team to manage the project. In the long
term the University of the Sunshine Coast in Queensland will study
the long termbenefit the project has for local industry and will assess
the best way to utilise local suppliers.
WEALTH OF EXPERIENCE
RCC08 was held from9-11 April 2008. Expertise was drawn from
eminent professionals involved in the field of RCC, including:
Brian Forbes manager of major damprojects for international con-
sultants GHD, Australia. Forbes was the principal engineer/reviewer
for eight of the first nine RCC dams to be built in Australia. Since
then he has worked on over 30 major RCC dams in 15 countries.
Francisco Ortego principal and director of FOSCE Consulting
Engineers in Germany. He has been involved in the planning, design
and construction of more than 50 large RCCdams in 20 countries.
Ken Hansen senior vice president of Schnabel Engineering in the
US. He has consulted on more than 55 RCCdams in 11 countries.
Trevor Dunstan executive director of ARAN International in
Australia. His continuous mix, volumetric proportioning plants
have been used on more than 30 RCC projects with volumes
up to 1Mm
3
.
To obtain DVD proceedings of RCC 08 or for more
information on any future events, please contact
laura@rcc08.com
PROJECT DEVELOPMENT
IWP&DC
Above and top left: International experts shared their experiences with delegates at RCC 08; Bottom, right: Francisco Ortego of FOSCE Consulting Engineers
28 JANUARY 2009 INTERNATIONAL WATER POWER & DAM CONSTRUCTION
REFURBISHMENT
Conceptual design of the re-build including analyzing and devel-
oping various options to re-build the project. Construction costs
and schedule, as well as potential regulatory challenges with
each option, were be fully evaluated.
Following substantial investigation and design, Rizzo
concluded that substandard construction and instrumentation
problems were partly responsible for the breach, earmarking
the following points as key causes: stability failure; poor
design; specification and maintenance of instrumentation and
control systems.
It was determined by Rizzo that a repair of the existing dike was
not technically feasible due to flaws in the original construction.
Substantial areas of the existing dike were founded on residual soil.
Additionally, few construction controls were utilized to control the
gradation and character of the rock fill.
Due to this and a number of other factors, a complete re-build
of the upper reservoir was required.
A
T 5:00 AM on 14 December 2005, the northwest corner
of the Dike around the Taum Sauk Pumped Storage
Projects Upper Reservoir in Reynolds County about 100
miles (160km) south of St. Louis, Missouri breached over
a width of about 213m(700ft), causing a catastrophic, uncontrolled,
rapid release of water down the west slope of Proffit Mountain and
into the East Fork of the Black river (see Figures 1 and 2).
Paul C Rizzo Associates, Inc. was hired by the dams owner
AmerenUE to investigate the cause of the 408MWprojects damcol-
lapse, as part of a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)
requirement. The company was retained to address the following:
Detailed forensic engineering to determine the causes of the fail-
ure. Analysis included stability and seepage, dam breach (to
determine time of failure and to evaluate mode of failure), com-
plete review of instrument control systems, sediment transport,
detailed mapping of breach zone, and drilling and sampling of
remaining portions of the dike.
Reservoir
Concrete face and
plynth block
Foundation rock
Parapet wall
Uncompacted rockfill
(placed in 10 foot lifts
Residual soil &
weathered rock
Figure 1: Aerial view of the breach
Rebuild work is currently being carried out on the Taum Sauk pumped storage project in
Missouri, US, following a catastrophic failure of the schemes upper reservoir in December
2005. Engineer of record and construction manager, Paul C Rizzo Associates, provides
IWP&DC with details on the work involved in this important project
Rebuilding Taum Sauk
Left Figure 2: An overall aerial view of the flow path is shown
Below Figure 3: Old Upper Reservoir design
PROJECT HISTORY
The Upper Reservoir at the Taum Sauk pumped storage plant was
constructed in the early 1960s with an uncompacted rockfill dike
with a concrete face it was basically an early concrete faced rock-
fill dike. The project was completed in 1963 as a pumped-storage
project, with an upper and a lower reservoir. The lower reservoir,
operated as a run-of-river reservoir with outflow being maintained
at approximately equal to natural inflow, provides storage for water
to be pumped to the upper reservoir at night or during periods of
low power demand.
The original construction of the Upper Reservoir was accom-
plished by flattening the top of Proffit Mountain, using rhyolite and
excavated residual soil to construct the existing concrete face rock-
fill dike. After the breach, it was discovered that significant quan-
tities of residual fines were mixed with the rock, and the rock itself
had a wide range of particle sizes, ranging from gravel sizes to as
large as 4-5ft (1.2-1.5m) in diameter. The Forensic Report authored
by Rizzo is available on-line at the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commissions website: www.ferc.gov.
WHY RCC?
The new dam is founded on fractured rhyolite with deep weather-
ing features, intrusive granites and weathered diorite dikes. A sym-
metrical RCC section is being constructed to provide adequate
factors of safety to meet FERCstability criteria considering the sub-
scribed foundation conditions of the rock.
The subsurface information obtained during the original con-
struction of the damand additional borings drilled during the design
of the newRCCdamindicated the prevalence of weak seams along
low angle discontinuities with the foundation rock. At many loca-
tions, these weak seams consist of low plasticity clay. Therefore,
Rizzo performed sliding stability analyses of the dam assuming the
presence of the clay seams at various depths within the foundation
rock. It also calculated the yield acceleration along these potential
failure surfaces. The lowest factor of safety is postulated to occur
when the clay seam is parallel to the rock/dam interface at an angle
of 10 degrees with the horizontal at a reasonable depth below the
base of the dam. For any other angle of the seams (either upward
or downward), the factor of safety is higher than the factor of safety
for clay seams parallel to the rock/dam interface.
The required friction angle with no cohesion was calculated for
various depths to the clay seams. The results of these analyses indi-
cate that a symmetrical RCC dam with 0.6H:1V upstream and
downstream slopes constructed along a foundation sloping at 10
degrees or less will meet all FERCstability criteria even if a clay seam
with a lowfriction angle is encountered within 20ft (6m) of the base
of the dam. A conventional RCC dam section would require
RCC/rock and rock shear strengths considerably higher than a clay
seam. For this reason, the new RCC dam will consist of a symmet-
rical section similar in many ways to a hard fill dam. All of these
features have resulted in a time consuming and intense foundation
preparation effort as illustrated in Figures 4 and 5.
The initial design contemplated using a conventional gravity dam
section with vertical upstream face and a steep downstream face,
which contemplated a relatively high strength RCCand fairly clean
aggregate. As preliminary studies [1] revealed significant presence
of fines in the existing rockfill dike, it was realized that washing
aggregates would demand a costly, difficult operation due to the
water treatment equipment required to keep the operation self-con-
tained and in compliance with environmental regulations applica-
ble to the project. It was concluded that a dam section designed to
provide an adequate factor of safety to meet FERC stability criteria
considering the subsurface conditions of the foundation rock, and
a RCC mix using available aggregate in the rockfill dike, would be
the most appropriate solution for the project.
WWW.WATERPOWERMAGAZINE.COM JANUARY 2009 29
The newdamis currently under construction (2006 to 2009) and
will be the largest RCC dam (2.06Mm
3
) in North America.
DAM DESIGN
The newRCCdamwill be constructed along the same alignment as
the original concrete faced rockfill damconstructed in the 1960s to
impound the Upper Reservoir. Since the Upper Reservoir is found-
ed on top of Taum Sauk Mountain, it has no watershed. The
Probable MaximumFlood (PMF) for the newRCCdamconsists of
the rainfall within the reservoir. Therefore, the hydrology and
hydraulic criteria are limited to two major factors, the elevation of
the crest of the new RCC dam, including freeboard, and the capac-
ity of the proposed overflow release structure (spillway).
The overall design basis is to re-build the Upper Reservoir such
that it will have the same electric generating capacity as the original
Upper Reservoir with a normal pool and overall gross head as estab-
lished in the FERC License for the Taum Sauk Plant. This leads to
elevations for design shown in Table 1.
RCC MIX
Because of its increased mass and more uniform load distribution
on the foundation, combined with water and silt loads on the
upstream face, a symmetrical section is more stable and less highly
stressed than the conventional gravity damsection for the same load
condition. As such, a high strength RCCis not required for the sym-
metrical section. Londe and Lino suggested the name hardfill for
REFURBISHMENT
Conventional concrete
Access road
Backfill
Crest-to-gallery drain
Conventional
concrete
Bedding mix
Asphalt
EL. 1604.5
EL. 1601.0 Normal Pool El. 1597.0
Bottom of excavation
Bedrock
Foundation drain
Grout
curtain
RCC
Drainage gallery
Table 1 Design elevations
Level Elevation Basis
Normal operating 1597 Established in the
level FERC License
Crest of dam 1601 4ft (1.2m) of freeboard
Top of parapet wall 1604.5 Vehicle guide rail
Base of dam Varies but generally in the Suitable rock foundation
the range of EL 1500 at or below foundation
and EL 1460 of original CFRD dike
Right, top Figure 4: View of the old reservoir
Right, bottom Figure 5: Cross section of the new reservoir
30 JANUARY 2009 INTERNATIONAL WATER POWER & DAM CONSTRUCTION
REFURBISHMENT
their weak-mix RCC [2]. Based on the hardfill concept and suc-
cessful RCC experiences in dams using RCC mixes with challeng-
ing materials [3], Rizzo finalized a proposed design comprising a
symmetrical section but using a more refined RCCmix, with a more
controlled gradation than typically used in hardfill dammixes. The
RCC design strength was set at 1500 PSI.
RCC mix design program
The RCCmix for the proposed damwas developed considering the
following factors:
Re-use of the existing Rhyolite rockfill for the coarse and fine
aggregate.
Use of non-commercial fly ash from AmerenUE facilities.
Relatively lowrequiredstrengths due tothe symmetrical cross section.
The development of the RCC mix began with performing a Phase I
laboratory mix design programin the spring of 2006. This program
consisted of 16 RCC mixes utilizing the existing rockfill as aggre-
gate. This material was crushed to the proper gradation at a nearby
rock quarry. Class F fly ash from a waste pond at AmerenUEs
Meramec facility was used in most of these mixes. The Phase I pro-
gram also included Alkali Silica Reactivity (ASR) testing to deter-
mine if the Rhyolite aggregate is potentially expansive. The results
of the Phase I program indicated that the non-commercial fly ash
could be used to produce RCC, the Rhyolite was potentially expan-
sive despite the presence of the Class F fly ash which mitigated some
of the reactivity, and an RCC mix consisting of 200 pounds of
cementitious content (cement and fly ash) and 3600 pounds of
aggregate will produce the required engineering properties (i.e., yield
a compressive strength in excess of 1,500 psi after one year and a
unit weight in excess of 146 pounds per cubic foot).
The RCCMix design programcontinued with a Phase II program
consisting of the construction of an RCC test pad using the same
materials with full scale construction equipment. The Phase II pro-
gram was conducted in November 2006 and included saw cuts into
the RCC test pad to determine the quality of the RCC. The results
indicated that the mix design recommended after the Phase I pro-
gram was appropriate for the construction of the RCC dam.
Detailed mix design studies using various cement, fly ash and
moisture contents were carried out to determine the appropriate
RCCproportions. Aggregate extracted fromaccessible locations in
the existing dike were crushed to produce usable aggregate for lab
trial mixes. Concurrently to the lab trial batches, a comprehensive
mortar bar expansion test program involving fly ashes of different
sources and qualities was performed to find options to mitigate
Alkali-Silica Reaction (ASR) in the potentially reactive rhyolite.
Based on initial lab results, a baseline cementitious content of 200
Lbs/CY at 50% ash content was selected for full scale trials.
Two full-scale test sections of about 1500CY(1147m
3
) each were
placed prior to dam construction. The first test section was placed
in December 2006 while the second was built in August 2007. The
test sections pursued a variety of objectives related not only to mix
design but also to RCCproduction and construction, such as aggre-
gate crushing, lift joint treatments, bedding mix type and facing sys-
tems. Both test sections provided valuable lessons, which helped to
refine the mix proportions, improve dam design and make the con-
struction process more efficient. Based on acceptable results, dam
construction started in October 2007 using mix 100+100 (C+FA).
Available test results indicate that RCC placed in the dam complies
with design requirements.
Test sections
Two RCCtest sections were built for the TaumSauk Upper Reservoir
project. While the focus of Test Section I was mainly on materials
and RCC design issues, the Test Section 2 (Production Test Section)
also intended to demonstrate and test means and methods proposed
by the Contractor for damconstruction. Abrief description follows:
Test section I (design test section)
The primary goal of test section I was to demonstrate that an accept-
able, design-conforming mix could be produced using the challeng-
ing RCC components available for the project. Another critical
objective was to demonstrate that Meramec pond ash could be
extracted, processed and accurately fed to the mixing plant. Besides
these relevant objectives, the test section also pursued objectives typ-
ical of RCC test sections, such as lift joint quality evaluation, bed-
ding mix type selection (mortar vs. concrete bedding mix), and
facing systemevaluation. This full-scale RCCplacement used crush-
ing, mixing and RCCplacing equipment typical of small to medium
sized RCC projects.
In early December 2006, about 1500CY (1147m
3
) of RCC was
placed using mixes 80+120 and 100+100. Both mixes showed
acceptable fresh mix properties, and mechanical properties resulted
well above design requirements. On this basis, mix 80+120 was
selected for the next phase. At the time test section I was built, the
facing system intended to be used for the dam was concrete curbs.
For that reason, one face of the test section was built with this
method; however, cracking experienced in the curb face and sched-
ule concerns related to long waiting times for the curb to be able to
receive RCC prompted a design modification to formwork.
Test section 2 (production test section)
The primary goal of the production test section was to demonstrate
mix performance with available materials produced, crushed, trans-
ported and delivered with the equipment deployed by the Contractor
for damconstruction. Another critical objective was to demonstrate
the capability to produce an acceptable upstreamface with concrete
placed against inclined formwork achieving an intimate contact with
the RCC mix. As mentioned above, the facing system of the dam
was changed from concrete curbs to conventional concrete placed
against forms (Figure 9). The start of the RCC placement on the
Above and top right Figures 6 and 7: Foundation preparation work
Bottom right Figure 8: Test pad 1 aggregate bin feeder (left) and place-
ment of the base pad (right)
WWW.WATERPOWERMAGAZINE.COM JANUARY 2009 31
damwas contingent to the quality achieved during this test section.
Placement in the test section started mid-August 2007, using mostly
mix 80+120 (C+FA); however, advantage was taken of the initial lifts
to try mixes with increased ash content (80+140). The work plan
contemplated the placement of 12 lifts of RCC; this section height
allowed for one formwork jump, which was a required test for
approval of the formwork system proposed by the Contractor.
Two types of bedding mix were evaluated during construction of
Test Pad I: sand mortar and MSAconcrete mix. Both mixes per-
formed well and produced well-bonded RCClift joints. Also, obser-
vations made during placement showed that mortar sand was a more
user-friendly product than concrete; however, the consensus after
visual evaluation was that the concrete bedding mix produced a supe-
rior joint. Figure 10 depicts wire cuts of RCCwith bedding mix and
without bedding mix. In general, the cuts revealed a well compacted
RCC mix with a good particle distribution throughout the mass and
very little segregation. On the non-bedding wire cut, segregation along
high maturity lift joint lines was more pronounced, but overall qual-
ity was acceptable. Interface between RCC and conventional facing
concrete at the w/bedding side, which represents the standard case on
the dam, was considered good. Based on these results, clearance for
placement on the dam was received early October 2007. Placement
started on 10 October 2007 using mix 100+100 field densities, gra-
dation, and compressive strength of the RCCplaced on the damthus
far comply with project specifications and design requirements.
CEMENTITIOUS CONTENT, AGGREGATES AND
FLY ASH COMPONENTS
Figure 11 shows the gradation of truckload size samples extracted
from accessible places in the rockfill dike scalped at 3 inches.
Aggregate for the initial lab work was produced at a commercial
crusher, which consisted of a primary jawcrusher and a cone crush-
er as a secondary crushing stage. Figure 12 depicts the rockfill mate-
rial before crushing. At the crushing plant, aggregate was separated
in two aggregate groups (1 1/2 to 1/2 and <1/2) and additional
screening was necessary at the lab in the coarse fraction to achieve
an acceptable gradation. Figure 13 shows a close-up of the two
products obtained at the crushing plant.
Originally, the crushing scheme for damconstruction used a basic,
REFURBISHMENT
100.0
90.0
80.0
70.0
60.0
50.0
40.0
30.0
20.0
10.0
0.0
Calc. combined G radation
TS specs lower limit
TS specs upper limit
Actual G radation Dec 2-06
100 10 1
Size (mm)
0.1 0.01
1 3/4 3 2 11/2 1/23/8 #4 #8 #16 #30 #50 #100 #200
Concrete aggregate gradation 0.90
0.80
0.70
0.60
0.50
0.40
0.30
0.20
0.10
A
v
e
r
a
g
e
l
e
n
g
t
h
e
x
p
a
n
s
i
o
n
(
%
)
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
Days immersed in 1 N NaOH solution
Threshold indicative of deleterious behavior
Threshold indicative of Innocuous behavior
0.30
0.25
0.20
0.15
0.10
0.05
0.00
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Fly Ash replacement (% by weight)
14 days
Class C Fly Ash (Rush Island)
Threshold indicative of
deleterious behavior
Threshold indicative of
innocuous behavior
10 days
5 days
5
10
14
Series 4
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
24 12 1 3/4 4 3 211/2 1/23/8 #4 #8 #16 #30 #50 #100 #200
Load#1
Load#3
Load#5
Load#7
Load#9
Load#11
Load#13
Load#15
Load#2
Load#4
Load#6
Load#8
Load#10
Load#12
Load#14
Load#16
1000 100 10 1 0.1 0.01
Concrete aggregate gradation
combined minus 3
Size (mm)
Top row, from left to right Figure 9: Conventional facing concrete against formwork, test section II; Figure 10a and b: Wire cuts in production with test
section, with bedding mix (left), and no bedding (right). Above, left Figure 11: Gradation of truckload size samples; Above, right Figure 12: Rockfill samples
before test crushing; Figure 13: Coarse and fine aggregate crushed for lab mixes
Below, left to right Figure 14: Typical gradation curve produced during test pad I; Figure 15: Expansion test (ASTM C1260) for Taum Sauk Rhyolite;
Figure 16: Mortar bar expansion vs class C fly ash replacement
32 JANUARY 2009 INTERNATIONAL WATER POWER & DAM CONSTRUCTION
REFURBISHMENT
two-stage crushing plant. However, after the crushing during the con-
struction of the test section I, it became evident that a tertiary crush-
er was required to get an acceptable gradation. On this basis, tertiary
crusher was included as required equipment in the specifications.
As frequently seen in projects using mixes similar to the type used
in TaumSauk, preliminary specs considered achieving the combined
RCC gradation by using a combination of only two aggregate
groups (11/2 to and < ). Based on the acceptable results
obtained during the Test Section I, the two aggregate groups
approach remained in the specifications. The typical curve produced
during the first test section is depicted in Figure 14.
In addition to the high fines content in the existing dike, the rhyo-
lite on site has a propensity to Alkali-Silica Reaction. To confirm
ASR potential, a series of mortar bar expansion tests were conduct-
ed. Figure 15 depicts the results of ASTMC1260 mortar bar expan-
sion tests indicating potentially deleterious behaviour of the rhyolite.
The test program included tests with Class C Fly Ash and Class F
Fly Ash. Figure 16 shows that Class Cfly ash was not effective miti-
gating ASRand showed a pessimum effect at 30%ash; that is, this
amount of ash actually increased expansion. Conversely as depicted
in Figure 17, class F ash was very effective at controlling ASR. At
about 25% ash, the expansion is almost completely suppressed.
Commercial fly ash is available in the project area, however, the
Owner operates Meramec Plant, a coal fired power station located
about 90 miles from the project. Some years ago Meramec plant
produced class F ash, which was sluiced and stored in a pond near
the power plant. Rizzo has experience producing RCC with simi-
lar ash for use in the Saluda DamRemediation Project in Columbia,
South Carolina, which led to a proposal for using the sluiced pond
ash. Field investigations revealed that the ash quantity was enough
to cover project needs and that the quality complied with ASTM C
618 requirements. Once lab testing confirmed acceptable physical
and chemical properties, additional lab mixes using Meramec fly ash
were prepared to evaluate ash performance in the actual RCC mix.
Extraction and handling of the Meramec pond ash was tried full-
scale during construction of Test Section I. The original ash pro-
cessing plan contemplated wet screening to break lumps and remove
impurities and a hydraulic classifying system was used (Econosizer)
to separate particle sizes by decantation to produce fine high quali-
ty ash. After processing, the ash was deposited in a sedimentation
pond, to be later excavated and placed on the ground for further
dewatering. One problem encountered was that the ash retained
water longer than expected. Initially it was foreseen that in 24 hours
ash water content would be at a level where ash could be easily han-
dled; however, in reality it took several days for the ash to be ready
for hauling and handling. At the jobsite, additional handling and
spreading was required to bring moisture to a point where it could
be accurately fed to a continuous mixing plant. It was found that
plowing the ash with a Rototiller or agricultural disc was one effec-
tive way to bring moisture to manageable levels. The valuable lessons
learned during the test pad helped to modify the overall approach to
ash exploitation and helped to develop systems to feed the ash to the
RCC plants accurately. Although extraction costs increased, utiliz-
ing Meramec ash still proved feasible due to the additional ash stor-
age capacity opened for use at the power station in the years to come.
RCC mixes
The initial set of mixes prepared in early 2006, are presented in Table
2. This matrix included mixes with different cementitious contents,
different ash types and cement only mixes. Also, different water
contents were investigated and, based on test results, workability,
and mix appearance, a water content of 200 lbs/cy was selected as
the baseline value. In general, Vebe times for these mixes were above
30 seconds. Based on accelerated compressive and indirect tensile
strength results (Figure 18) and the fact that mixes with 50% ash
showed acceptable workability performance, a cementitious content
of 200 lbs/cy using that ash content was selected as baseline. Thus,
the preliminary mix selection resulted in the following proportions:
100+100+200 Lbs/CY (Cement+Ash+Water).
In August 2006, three additional mixes with constant cementi-
tious content (200 lbs/cy) but different cement/ash ratio were added.
The purpose of these mixes was to evaluate performance of
Meramec Class F ash available at an economical distance from the
jobsite. This additional set included the following proportions:
80+120, 90+110 and 100+100 (C+FA). Strength gained over time
for all mixes with Meramec Ash complied with design requirements
and, based on these results, mixes 80+120 and 100+100 were select-
ed for full-scale trial in the Test Sections.
For more information visit www.rizzoassoc.com
References
[1] Forensic Investigation and Root Cause Analysis, Dec. 14, 2005
Incident. Paul C. Rizzo Associates. Feb 2006.
[2] The Faced Symmetrical Hardfill Dam: A New concept for RCC. Londe, P.
& Lino, M. International Water Power Dam Construction, Feb. 1992, 1924.
[3] The Safest Dam. M. Stevens, J. Linard. Journal of Hydraulic
Engineering/ Vol. 128/ February 2002.
[4] RCC Mixes and Properties Using Poor Quality Materials Concepcion
Dam. L. Gaekel and E. Schrader, Roller Compacted Concrete III. ASCE, 1992.
Table 2. Mix matrix
Total C+F 0% 30% 50% 70%
Class F Class C Class F Class C Class C
100 100+0 50+50 50+50
150 150+0 105+45 105+45 75+75 75+75 45+105
200 200+0 100+100 100+100
250 125+125
300 150+150
10 20 30 40 50 60 0
0.30
0.25
0.20
0.15
0.10
0.05
0.00
10 20 30 40 50 60 0
0
0
0
0
Fly Ash replacement (% by weight)
14 days(End of std. test)
Class F Fly Ash (Indiana)
Threshold indicative of
deleterious behavior
Threshold indicative of
innocuous behavior
10 days
5 days
d ( d
5
10
14
Note: Mix 80+120 does not
include lifts #11 & #12
100 + 100
test pad
80 + 120
test pad
1000 100 10 1
Accelerated
curing
Age (days)
Accel. curing
Mix 100+100 test pad
Mix 80+120 test pad
Mix 80+120 test pad
Mix 100+100 test accel.
100+100 smooth
80+120 smooth
4500
4000
3500
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
IWP&DC
Key dates
Dam failure 12/14/2005
Ameren announced rebuild February 2007
FERC approved rebuild plans August 2007
Selection of Contractors December 2007
Construction began September 15, 2007
RCC placement began October 10, 2007
Total amount of RCC to be placed 2.06Mm
3
Scheduled construction completion Fall 2009
Key players and contractors
AmerenUE Owner/Client is a subsidiary of St. Louis based Ameren Corporation.
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is the governing regulating body.
Paul C. Rizzo Associates, Inc. is the Engineer of Record and Construction Manager.
Ozark Constructors, LLC is the main contractor for rebuilding the Upper Reservoir.
Ozark Constructors is a venture partnership formed by ASI Constructors, Inc. and
St. Louis-based Fred Weber, Inc.
Above Figure 17: Mortar bar expansion vs class F ash replacement; Figure 18: Compressive strength vs age mixes 100+100 and 80+120 test pad I
Impermeable
Flexible
Resistant to settlements
Installed quickly,
also underwater
Durable
Applicable to all types
of structures
Environmentally friendly
Efficiently monitored
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TheWorldBankhas recentlyapprovedmajor projects inAfricaandAsia, alongwithrehabilitationprojects inEasternEurope. Projects rangefromsmall local plants andrehabilitationof existingfacilities tomultipurpose
transnational projects andpumpedstorage. Consistent withindustry-widegrowthtrends, Bankapprovals for hydropower haverisenfrom$250million/year in2002-04to$500million/year in2005-07andmorethan$800
millionin2008. Forty-four hydropower projects approvedsince2003support almost 9700MWof capacity.
Scalinguphydropower is not limitedbyphysical or engineeringpotential. Thechallenges lieindefininghydropowers strategicvalueineachcountry/basinandmanagingrisks. This requires careful attentiontoproject
preparationandsupervisionas well as improvingtheenablingenvironment. This inturnrequires adequateresources, knowledgeandskills across multiplestakeholders.
Whiledrivenbyregional operations, theoverall hydropower programis coordinatedbyasmall teamintheanchor Energy, Transport andWater (ETW) Department of theSustainableDevelopment (SDN) VicePresidency.
Theteamis managedbytheSector Manager of theWater Unit (ETWWA), andoverseenbytheSector Director for Energy, Water andTransportationandtheEnergyandMining, andWater Sector Boards. Thehydropower
teamworks closelywiththeother departments of theSDN, reflectingthebasicmulti-disciplinarynatureof hydropower development andoperations.
TheWorldBankanchorunit is seekingtostrengthenits hydropowerteamwithfull-timededicatedexperts tomeet growingdemandandopportunity.
Duties andAccountabilities:
As acritical member of theBanks corehydropower team, theselectedcandidatewill playakeyroleinhelpingguideandimplement theBanks hydropower operational strategy. Thesuccessful candidatewill report tothe
Sector Manager (ETWWA) andtakeguidancefromthedepartment teamleader for hydropower. Responsibilities will include:
a) Operations:
Providespecializedtechnical inputs andhandlinginstitutional andimplementationissues relatedtoinvestment operations for effectivehydropower development andmanagement at theriver basinandcountrylevels. Work
intensivelywithBankteams, countryteams, clients, partners andtheprivatesector toleadand/or provideexpert judgment onfeasibilityandother studies, consultations anddialogue.
Serveas peer reviewer/advisor onhydropower-relatedinitiatives andcorporateriskprojects.Addressingoperational queries onanas-neededbasis, includingenhancement andother quality-relatedtasks for hydropower
projects withintheBank.
b) Hydropowerpolicyandprogrammanagement:
Buildawareness of theroleof hydropower amongcountrymanagement andother sector anchor assessment groups withintheBank.
Providestrategicandpolicyleadershipfor thesector, andincoordinatingimplementationof theBanks hydropower business plan.
LeadtheBanks knowledgemanagement responsibilities tobuildcapacitybothinsideandoutsidetheBank.
Leadinput tohydropower aspects of corporateinitiatives andmanagement queries
Serveas spokespersonfor theBankinexternal forums, as appropriate.
c)Analytical Initiatives:
Leadand/or participateinETWsponsoredanalytical workrelatedtohydropower as guidedbythehydropower business plan.
Identifystrategicissues andpriorityeconomics andsector worktosupport continuous improvement inthesector.
SelectionCriteria
Masters degreeinafieldrelatedtohydropower development and/or water management andminimum8, preferably10years of relevant experience. Formal trainingor equivalent inoneor moreof thefollowingareas:
Engineering Water resources management/hydrology(includingoperations modeling) Energy Natural resourceeconomics
Minimumof 5years fieldbasedexperienceinhydropower development andimplementationsuchas inplanning, feasibilitystudies, design, project supervisionandoperations, preferablyindevelopingcountries.
Indepthunderstandingof sustainabilityissues of hydropower development andactions necessaryinplanning, designandimplementationtoensuresocial, environmental, economicandfinancial sustainability, including
industrygoodpracticestandards andinternational policyissues anddebates.
Interestedcandidates canapplythroughtheWorldBankwebsite(www.worldbank.org/careers - jobnumber: 082579) wheretherelevant positiondescriptionis alsoavailable.
Theclosingdateforapplications is Saturday, February28, 2009.
TheWorldBankGroupiscommittedtoachievingdiversityintermsofgender,nationality,cultureandeducationalbackground.Individualswithdisabilitiesareequallyencouragedtoapply.Allapplicationswillbetreatedinthestrictestconfidence.
TheWorldBank'sTalent Searchis completinganinternational searchtoidentifyqualifiedprofessionals forthefollowingposition:
Senior Hydropower Specialist - Washington, DC
34 JANUARY 2009 INTERNATIONAL WATER POWER & DAM CONSTRUCTION
REFURBISHMENT
DAM SAFETY
as far as possible, dangers and damage resulting from the existence
of the installation, frominsufficient maintenance or fromthe effects
of war.
Based on this law a dam safety regulation was established. The
present damsafety regulation has been in force since 1 January 1999,
and is a revision of former regulations (Mouvet et al., 2001). The
applicability of the dam safety regulation to a specific dam is based
on geometric criteria (dam height and reservoir volume) and the
damage potential in the downstream region (inundated area).
The regulation defines the duties of the different parties involved
in dam safety, i.e. dam safety authorities, dam owners, dam engi-
neers, and dam experts. To facilitate the application of the present
dam safety regulation, the following guidelines were issued by the
dam safety authority:
1. Criteria for dams subjected to dam safety regulations.
2. Structural safety of dams.
3. Safety of dams against floods.
4. Safety of dams against earthquakes.
5. Monitoring and maintenance of dams.
T
HE modern era of dam construction in Switzerland start-
ed some 135 years ago and came to a virtual standstill in
the 1970s. Since then very few new large dams have been
built. However, two major arch dams have been heightened
and several dams have been rehabilitated. The average age of the
existing large dams is about 50 years (Figure 1). Typically, the con-
cession period for hydro power projects is 80 years; therefore, sev-
eral of the older power plants mainly run-of-river plants have
been rehabilitated for the renewal of the concession. The expected
service life of the rehabilitated power plants will be 160 years. They
must satisfy the current design criteria and safety standards.
Besides ageing, the main concerns are flood and earthquake safety
where safety criteria apply today, which were not applicable at the
time of construction of most existing storage dams. The prerequi-
site for a long service life is the structural safety of the dams and
appurtenant structures.
As a rule of thumb, the service life of a dam is as long as proper
maintenance can be guaranteed. This means the service life can be
very long. However, this will not be the case if a dam is no longer
maintained and monitored, as is demonstrated by the 272m high
Enguri arch damin Georgia, which was not maintained during civil
war and unrests at the time of independence in the early 1990s. This
dam the worlds highest arch dam has shown that the safety of
a dam may deteriorate very fast and even a new dam may become
potentially unsafe within a few years.
The service life of a well-designed, well-constructed and well-
maintained and monitored embankment and concrete dam can
easily reach 100 years. But some elements such as gates and valves
may have to be replaced after 40 to 50 years. The service life of elec-
tro-mechanical equipment and electronic control units is much short-
er and some components may have to be exchanged as frequently
as office computers as they may become technologically outdated
and maintenance may no longer be available.
In the present paper the integral safety concept for large dams is
discussed, which includes four major elements: structural safety,
monitoring safety, operational safety, and emergency planning. The
first three safety elements are well-known. However, much less is
known about emergency planning, because alarmsystems and evac-
uation of the population are often under the control of military or
civil defense authorities. The reason for this is that dams are possi-
ble targets in case of war and terrorists are interested in targets with
high damage potential.
DAM SAFETY IN SWITZERLAND
Legal and administrative aspects of dam safety
The Swiss Federal Law Regarding Water Police of 22 June 1877
stipulates: The Federal Council will ensure that the necessary steps
will be taken with existing and future storage installations to avoid,
Dam safety is an integral concept,
which comprises structural safety, dam
safety monitoring, operational safety
and emergency planning, writes Martin
Wieland and Rudolf Mueller
Dam safety, emergency action
plans and water alarm systems
Figure 1: Grande Dixence gravity dam with a height of 285m, completed in
1961, is the worlds highest concrete dam (top). The 250m high Mauvoisin
double curvature arch dam completed in 1957 (bottom). Both dams have
been in uninterrupted use for some 50 years.
The supervision of the larger dams, i.e. dams with an impounding
head of more than 25m, or dams with an impounding head of more
than 15mand a storage capacity of at least 50,000m
3
, or dams with
an impounding head of more than 10mand a storage capacity of at
least 100,000m
3
, or dams with a storage capacity of at least
500,000m
3
, is carried out by the federal damsafety authority which
employs specialised dam engineers. The safety of small dams is the
responsibility of the cantons (provinces).
The safety authority examines and approves new dam construc-
tion projects, as well as projects to rehabilitate existing dams.
Therefore, the owner has to submit the project drawings, the analy-
sis and design reports, and the results of the geotechnical and hydro-
logic investigations to the authority for approval. The construction
work may not start before approval of the final design has been given.
During construction it performs inspections and checks compli-
ance with the approved plans. All findings are placed on record.
The initial impounding of a damrequires the authorisation of the
dam safety authority.
During operation of the damthe authority supervises the surveil-
lance organisation of the owner, of the experienced engineer and of
the experts.
The reports of the experienced engineer (yearly) as well as the
experts appraisals (five-yearly) on condition and behaviour of the
dam are immediately notified to the dam safety authority.
WWW.WATERPOWERMAGAZINE.COM JANUARY 2009 35
If monitoring or inspections call for remedial actions, they have
to be carried out immediately.
Basic elements of dam safety concept
The two main goals of every safety concept are the minimisation of
all risks, and the mastering of the remaining risk in the best possi-
ble way (Biedermann 1997). To reach these goals a comprehensive
dam safety concept was introduced in Switzerland comprising the
following elements: (i) structural safety, (ii) dammonitoring and dam
maintenance, and (iii) emergency planning.
i) Structural safety
Minimization of the risks calls for an appropriate design and con-
struction of the dam. This means that the design (design criteria and
design concepts) should be periodically reviewed to ensure that the
structural safety will be guaranteed according to the state-of-the-art.
Figure 2 shows the Sefid Rud buttress dam in Iran, which experi-
enced much stronger earthquake actions than originally assumed in
the design. The seismic design criteria and methods of dynamic
analysis used for the design of the damare considered obsolete today.
ii) Dam monitoring and dam maintenance
Risks can be minimized but never totally eliminated even if a dam
has been designed and constructed according to the latest state of
knowledge. Therefore, it is necessary to detect any signs of abnormal
behaviour, damage, deficiencies in structural safety, and newtypes of
threats and hazards etc. as quickly as possible, so that corrective mea-
sures can be taken in time. In order to achieve this, periodic inspec-
tions of the dam, as well as periodic safety evaluations, are needed.
The purpose of the periodic inspections is to monitor the actual
behaviour of the dam. The periodic safety evaluations are used for
control of the long-term behaviour as well as for verification of the
structural safety. The damsurveillance systemused in Switzerland is
shown in Table 1. The responsibilities of the different parties involved
in dam surveillance and dam safety monitoring are as follows:
Dam owner: The dam owner has to maintain the dam in good
condition. For this purpose he establishes an organization to mon-
itor and maintain the dam. The technical staff of the dam owner
performs regular visual inspections and measurements on a weekly
or monthly basis. Automatically registered measurements are
checked monthly by manual readings. The damtechnician checks
the operational readiness of the outlet gates at least once a year.
The results of the observations and measurements are forwarded
to an experienced engineer appointed by the dam owner.
Experienced engineer: The experienced engineer checks the mon-
itoring results on a continuous basis, performs an annual inspec-
tion of the dam and compiles his interpretation of the dams
behaviour and condition in an annual report. The engineer may
also act as a consultant to the dam owner.
Experts: Larger dams with an impounding head of at least 40m,
or 10m with a reservoir capacity in excess of 1Mm
3
, must under-
go a comprehensive safety reviewby nominated experts every five
years. The experts, being civil engineers and geologists, are recog-
REFURBISHMENT
DAM SAFETY
Table 1. Structure of damsurveillance systemin Switzerland
Level Responsibility Activities Reports
1 Owner (dam safety Regular inspection of condition (by visual observations) and behaviour Monitoring records and test protocols
engineer, technical staff) (by measurements). Tests of spillway and bottom outlet gates.
2 Experienced engineer Analysis of the measured data and observations. Annual inspection Yearly report on condition and on
(civil engineer) of the dam. measured behaviour.
3 Experts (civil engineer Inspection and appraisal of the dam safety every five years. Report on condition and long-term behaviour.
and geologist) Analysis of special safety related questions.
4 Dam Safety Authority On-site inspection. Review of the annual reports and the experts Interventions if measures have to
appraisal. Verification of the implementation of the necessary measures. be implemented.
Figure 2: Repair and strengthening of Sefid Rud buttress dam in Iran, which
was damaged during the magnitude 7.5 Manjil earthquake of 21 June 1990:
downstream view of dam (top), strengthening of all 25 buttresses with rock
anchors with a capacity of 100 MN per block (bottom)
36 JANUARY 2009 INTERNATIONAL WATER POWER & DAM CONSTRUCTION
REFURBISHMENT
DAM SAFETY
nized specialists in damengineering and are appointed by the owner
in agreement with the dam safety authority.
Dam safety authority: The damsafety authority reviews the annual
reports of the experienced engineers as well as the five-year appraisals
of the experts. It also carries out on-site inspections and verifies that
the recommendations stated in the annual report and five-year
reports are observed and the necessary measures are implemented.
iii) Emergency planning
In case of an identified hazard to the dam the situation is managed
according to the emergency planning concept. It is important that the
measures to be taken have been prepared in advance. These measures
consist of a strategy and of emergency plans. The potentially flooded
area in case of a dambreak has to be determined, and the results should
be presented in a flood wave inundation map. This map allows evac-
uation of the population in the flooded area to be planned. Further
emergency planning measures include the installation or at least the
specification of the alarm devices, and the organizational provisions
for ensuring the evacuation of the population. The emergency strate-
gy defines three danger levels. Specific technical and operational pro-
visions as well as emergency actions are assigned to every danger level.
DAM SAFETY, CONSEQUENCES OF DAM FAILURE,
AND MEASURES FOR RISK REDUCTION
Today, a comprehensive safety concept is used for projects with
large damage potential such as large storage dams, nuclear facili-
ties etc. For dams it includes the following key elements: (i) struc-
tural safety, (ii) dam safety monitoring, (iii) operational safety and
maintenance, and (iv) emergency planning. Usually design engi-
neers are primarily concerned with structural safety; however, for
critical infrastructures like large storage dams, safety goes beyond
structural safety and must include items (ii) to (iv) listed above.
Operational safety, which is not considered explicitly in the Swiss
dam safety concept, is an important issue, which has to be con-
sidered. A typical example is the failure of the upper reservoir of
the Taum Sauk pump storage scheme in the US, which failed in
December 2005 (see page XX).
The consequences of damfailure are: loss of life (reduction of loss
of life is the top priority of emergency planning); environmental
damage; property damage in flood plain; damage of infrastructure;
loss of power plant and electricity production; socio-economic
impact; political impact, etc.
These consequences can be reduced by a number of structural and
non-structural measures. The structural measures are mainly relat-
ed to the safety of the dam, i.e. flood safety, earthquake safety, and
site conditions. The non-structural measures include the following:
safe operational guidelines for reservoir under normal and abnor-
mal operational conditions; implementation of emergency action
plans; implementation of water alarm systems; training of person-
nel; lowering of reservoir level in case of safety concerns; periodic
safety checks; engineering back-up to cope effectively with abnor-
mal and emergency situations; land use planning (political decision);
insurance coverage, third party liability coverage (protection from
economic losses), etc. The non-structural measures are often more
effective than structural measures.
EMERGENCY PLANNING IN SWITZERLAND
Emergency procedures include a plan on how to warn the authori-
ties and how to alert the population (Pougatsch et al., 1998).
The damowner must provide a flood wave inundation map show-
ing the flooded area, the energy head level and the arrival time of
the flood wave.
For dams with a storage capacity of more than 2Mm
3
a water
alarmsystemis mandatory in the so-called close zone. This zone will
be flooded within two hours at most. This corresponds to a distance
of about 30km downstream of the dam. The water alarm system
consists of special sirens that can be activated directly fromthe dam.
It has to be maintained and tested on a regular basis by the dam
owner. In the distant zone the rest of the flooded area the alarm
is released with the civil defence general alarmsirens and broadcast
directives. This alarmsystemis installed and maintained by the can-
tons. In the fact, a newgeneration of sirens are to be installed which
can operate both as water alarm sirens and as general alarm sirens.
For smaller dams with minor flooded areas the water alarm is
released using the civil defence general alarm sirens.
The cantons and the municipalities are responsible for the plan-
ning and preparation of the emergency directives and for evacuation
of the population.
The flood wave inundation maps are used on the one hand for
emergency planning purposes and on the other hand to define the
applicability of the regulations to a specific dam. The intensity of the
flood wave is defined as the product of the water depth with the flow
velocity and must be assessed with the limit values given in Table 2.
EMERGENCY ACTION PLANS
The main objective of emergency planning is to save lives. The eco-
nomical losses of the dam owner and the owners in the flood plain
can be covered by insurance.
Emergency Action Plans (EAP) are intended to help the dam
owner and operator, and emergency officials to minimize the con-
sequences of flooding caused by dam failure or the uncontrolled
release of water from a reservoir. The EAP will guide the responsi-
ble personnel in identifying, monitoring, responding to, and miti-
gating emergency situations. It outlines who does what, where,
when, and how in an emergency situation or unusual occurrence
affecting the safety of the damand the power plant. The EAP should
be updated regularly and after important emergency events.
Basically, the dam owner is responsible for maintaining a safe dam
by means of safety monitoring, operations manual, maintenance,
repair, and rehabilitation.
In an emergency situation, the damowner is responsible for mon-
itoring, determining appropriate alarmlevels, making notifications,
implementing emergency actions at the dam, determining when an
emergency situation no longer exists, and documenting all activities.
In the case of an emergency, the damowner is responsible for imme-
diate notification of the authorities, who are in charge of warning
and evacuation of the affected population. Warning is performed by
special water alarm systems as discussed in the subsequent section.
The basis for evacuation planning is a dambreach flood wave analy-
sis, which shows the inundated area for the worst case failure sce-
nario, i.e. the sudden failure of the dam. In addition, the arrival time
of the flood wave, flow velocities and water depth are results
obtained from such an analysis. As a rule of thumb, it takes about
two hours for a flood wave to propagate 30km.
Table 2. Definition of danger
levels of flood waves
(h: water depth; v: flow velocity)
Danger levels and Dam safety regulations apply
intensity of flooding if danger levels are exceeded
High danger
h > 2m or vh > 2m
2
/sec People inside massive buildings, in railway
coaches, in passenger cars, or on camping
sites are in danger.
Medium danger
2 m h > 1m or 2m
2
/sec People inside buildings, in passenger cars
vh > 1m
2
/sec or on camping sites are in danger.
Moderate danger
1 m h > 0.5m or 1m
2
/sec People in passenger cars and on camping
vh > 0.5m
2
/sec sites are in danger.
Low danger
h 0.5m or vh 0.5m
2
/sec The regulations do not apply.
WWW.WATERPOWERMAGAZINE.COM JANUARY 2009 37
The EAP consists of several components or tasks, namely:
Hazard classification a determination of the types of hazard that
could affect the safety of the facility. Hazards can be associated
with natural events and processes (e.g. floods, storms, earthquakes,
internal erosion, etc.) (Figure 3), with the operation of safety-rel-
evant hydro-mechanical and electro-mechanical equipment (e.g.
gate jamming, failure of monitoring equipment, etc), and with
damages caused intentionally by people (sabotage, terrorism, war,
etc.).
Emergency classification determination of the level of severity of
an incident or unusual behaviour of a monitoring instrument or
of a mechanical/electrical part. Three levels have been distin-
guished: (i) internal alert, (ii) developing situation, and (iii) immi-
nent situation. As an aid for judging the level of severity an
assessment matrix can be developed (which may change from one
facility to another one, depending on the dams characteristics and
the environment) (Table 3).
Upon discovery of, or after having been notified about, an unusual
scenario, two possible situations must be judged, namely whether
external assistance is needed and whether there are adverse impacts
with a threat to population, structures or environment. The urgency
of the situation is the major factor in classifying the severity of an
incident. The following alarm levels and emergency situations can
be distinguished:
i) The internal alert triggered by an unusual situation can be man-
aged and controlled by the dams staff. Typical internal alert sce-
narios are flood warning prior to receiving information on the size
of the flood and potential dangers, and also abnormal monitoring
results where readings on certain instruments exceed pre-set safety
limits (e.g. piezometric heads, discharge from drainage facilities or
displacement of structures).
ii) A developing situation exists when the observed incident clear-
ly tends to turn into a serious threat to the dams safety and the
population in the downstream area. At this stage it is not yet
known whether the situation can be brought under control.
iii) An imminent situation has developed when it has become clear
that the progress of the incident or threat cannot be stopped but
its consequences can still be mitigated, such as the evacuation of
the population in danger.
Communication or notification of the incident could be internally
only or both internally and externally. Externally means communi-
cation with local and state authorities, responsible for the execution
of emergency actions. Communication can be facilitated by notifi-
cation charts, which display the flow of information among con-
cerned parties and the executive staff of the facility. Internally, the
necessary measures will be carried out by an Emergency Task Group
(ETG), which is composed of members of the operating staff.
REFURBISHMENT
DAM SAFETY
Figure 3. Hazards from natural environment affecting dams: Overtopping of Palagnedra dam in Switzerland due to plugging of spillway by floating debris 1978
(left); failure of two gates of Shih-Kang weir due to fault movement caused during the 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake in Taiwan (right)
Table 3. Example of hazard matrix for
hydro power plant showing hazards
and required protective measures
(Emergency classification:
A: internal alert; B: developing situation;
C: imminent situation)
PROTECTIVE MEASURES
HAZARDS Rehabi- Partial Full Evacuation Post-event
litation reservoir reservoir evacuation
drawdown drawdown
Natural hazards
Floods A B C
Ice problems A
Earthquake C
Storm and lightning A
Structural hazards
Abnormal A B C
instrumentation
readings
Spillway gates and C C
equipment failure
Joint failure A C
Differential A B C C
movement of structure
Embankment piping A B C
or seepage
Electrical/mechanical A
failure and power
plant shut-down
Man-made hazards
Fire A B
Oil or hazardous A
material release
Criminal action, B C
sabotage, terrorism,
acts of war
Human error A
38 JANUARY 2009 INTERNATIONAL WATER POWER & DAM CONSTRUCTION
REFURBISHMENT
DAM SAFETY
WATER ALARM SYSTEMS
In Switzerland, 65 large dams have been equipped with a water
alarm system. The first systems were installed some 50 years ago.
The driving force behind these systems was the military. The objec-
tive was to prevent the type of disasters which were observed in
Germany, when several large dams were destroyed during World
War II. Therefore, the main threats considered were acts of war. This
has changed over the years.
Technology has developed very fast in recent years and water
alarm systems have to take advantage mainly of the new develop-
ments in equipment and communication. The water alarm systems
as such are not changing as the inundated areas remain unchanged.
However, with new developments, additional warning equipment
(sirens) may be needed.
A problem with triggering a water alarm is the fact that many
dams are no longer monitored by the dam owners personnel 24
hours a day. In remote places, nobody is at the dam site in winter.
Therefore, access to the dams during emergency situations is a logis-
tical problem. During severe rainfalls or after an earthquake, roads
may be blocked, etc. Also, in order to prevent false alarms, the sirens
are usually not in an operational mode, i.e. they have to be activat-
ed when a predefined alarmlevel is reached. This will take some time
if it has to be done manually. Only when the sirens are operational
and the highest alarm level is reached, i.e. it has to be expected that
the dam may fail, then a specific acoustic signal notifying a water
alarm is released.
In Switzerland, a distinction is made between the near field of a
flood wave, which is defined as the distance the flood wave will
travel in two hours, and the far field beyond that time limit. The
dam owners are responsible for the water alarm equipment in the
near field; the normal civil defense sirens are used in the far field.
Fortunately, up to now, no emergency has developed where people
had to be evacuated. Annual exercises are carried out by the author-
ities and the dam owners only and the proper functioning of the
equipment is checked.
It is obvious that a water alarm system contributes significantly
to the credibility of the damowners and the authorities by showing
that they are concerned about the safety of the people living down-
stream of large dams.
An example of a leaflet distributed to the population living in the
area in Zurich inundated by the possible failure of the Sihlsee dam
is shown in Figure 4 together with the two types of sirens used.
CONCLUSIONS
Emergency planning and the installation of water alarm systems in
the downstream region of large storage dams is a must. Even if a
dam is structurally safe, there are natural or man-made events that
could cause failure. For emergency planning to be effective, the pop-
ulation affected must be involved and informed about what to do
in an emergency. The first water alarm systems for dams were
installed in Switzerland some 50 years ago.
The Emergency Action Plan (EAP) for storage and run-of-river
facilities is an efficient damsafety management tool assisting the dam
owner or operator in the handling of possible adverse impacts that
may originate at the dam or in its environment. The components of
the EAP, i.e. hazard identification and classification, unusual situa-
tions matrix and emergency classification and notification charts
present clear steps to follow in the case an unusual observation has
been noticed requiring corrective or mitigating actions.
The EAP facilitates decision making and streamlines communication
among the responsible persons. It provides support to the key response
actions to be taken within the damowners organization.
Martin Wieland, Chairman, ICOLD Committee on
Seismic Aspects of Dam Design, Poyry Energy Ltd.,
Zurich, Switzerland. Email: martin.wieland@poyry.com
Rudolf Mueller, Dam Expert, AF-Colenco Ltd., Baden,
Switzerland; formerly Deputy Commissioner for Dam
Safety, Swiss Federal Office for Energy, Bern, Switzerland.
Email: rudolf.mueller@afconsult.com
This paper was presented at the High-Level International
Forum on Water Resources and Hydropower, which was
held in Beijing from October 16 18, 2008 in connection
with the 50th anniversary of the China Institute of Water
Resources and Hydropower Research (IWHR)
References
[1] Pougatsch H., Mueller R., Kobelt A. (1998): Water Alarm Concept in
Switzerland, Dam Safety, Berga (ed.), Balkema, Rotterdam, Holland.
[2] Mouvet L., Mueller R.W., Pougatsch H. (2001): Structural safety of
dams according to the new Swiss legislation, Proc. ICOLD European
Symposium, Geiranger, Norway.
[3] Biedermann R. (1997): Safety concept for dams: Development of the
Swiss concept since 1980, wasser energie luft, 89 Jahrgang, Heft 3-4
Baden, Switzerland, pp. 55-63.
IWP&DC
Figure 4. Flood map of Zurich with evacuation directions (failure of the
Sihlsee dam located some 30 km away from the Zurich) (left); water alarm
siren (above left); general alarm siren (above right)
WWW.WATERPOWERMAGAZINE.COM JANUARY 2009 39
REFURBISHMENT
remedial works in conjunction with Bachy Soletanche.
Primarily, the project required the construction of a slurry cut off
wall from the crest of the dam using a diaphragm wall grab tech-
nique to prohibit the migration of groundwater when the reservoir
is refilled. Acrane-mounted hydraulic grab was considered the most
appropriate method to use, as it maintains verticality and accuracy
through onboard software and detects the slightest of movement
during excavation which is particularly essential when the depth of
the slurry cut-off wall is 42m.
The installation progresses in stages or panels along the length
of the damand directly through the existing clay core. Acement ben-
tonite slurry mix is pumped into each panel during trench excava-
tion which keeps it stable and creates the finished impermeable
barrier. The dam slurry wall is 200m long (with an 800mm width).
The grouting stage of the project firstly requires the installation
of a grout curtain wall. This goes into the rock at the dam base to
seal the interface between the clay and the rock, and improve the
integrity of the rock itself. The grout will extend 10minto the rock,
therefore reaching as far as 55m below the crust of the dam. It is
here where Bachy Soletanche will install the grout tubes using the
overlapping method.
Further grouting is also taking place within a 1.7mdiameter brick
and concrete lined culvert. It carries water fromthe reservoirs draw-
down tower into the river on the downstream side of the dam and
runs right through the base of the dams clay core. It is considered
that the culvert could also leak when the reservoir is reinstated.
Bachy Soletanche is therefore sealing the interface of the culvert and
surrounding clay by grouting around it.
All the remedial work conducted by Bachy Soletanche was com-
pleted in November last year, however the project hasnt gone with-
out its challenges. Daniel Barnard, the projects Contract Manager
explained: It was a very sensitive project in regards to environmen-
tal considerations as a nearby river is in close proximity to the site.
This required extremely careful coordination on our part in order to
avoid contaminating the water with the grout or bentonite fluid used
on site. Flexibility with our design was also key to the process due to
the poor as built construction records from 1911. It led to a 3D
CAD model of the dam and surrounding ground being designed in
conjunction with Black and Veatch which is proving to be an
extremely beneficial tool to the design of the project.
www.bacsol.co.uk
I
N the picturesque surroundings of Ebbw Vale, South Wales,
Bachy Soletanche Limited is conducting essential remedial works
at the Dwr Cymru Welsh Water owned Lower Carno Dam.
Built in 1911, the damhas been plagued with a number of leak-
ages and complications eventually leading to the adjacent reservoir
being emptied in 2005. Nowin order to refill the reservoir, the geot-
echnical specialist will construct a slurry wall and provide compre-
hensive rock injection grouting to reinforce the dam in a multi
million pound two-phase project.
It was essential to get to the root of the problem, as the reservoir
increases the water supply to the local towns and future develop-
ments in the community. However it was only after the reservoir was
emptied that one of Welsh Waters partners, Black and Veatch, got
the opportunity to determine a permanent solution to the dams
ongoing problems. The firm initially conducted a study to identify
the possible mechanisms for the leakages and after carrying out an
intrusive investigation, developed an appropriate design for the
Lower Carno dam
Essential remedial works are being carried
out at Lower Carno dam in Wales, UK
Back on the mend
For the initial phase of the project, Bachy Soletanche installed a slurry cut off
wall along the crest of the dam using a crane mounted hydraulic grab
IWP&DC
40 JANUARY 2009 INTERNATIONAL WATER POWER & DAM CONSTRUCTION
REFURBISHMENT
F
RANCIS turbine runners play a crucial role in converting
energy from water into mechanical energy. Unfortunately
cracks occur frequently on turbine blades. Research [1] has
indicated that most of the regular cracks are fatigue cracks
where blades have been subjected to cyclic steady stress and vibra-
tory alternate stress. The existence of cracks seriously endangers the
operating stability and safety of power stations, so it is necessary to
monitor the initiation of cracks and to master the developing trend
of the cracks. However, it is very difficult to find a method that effec-
tively monitors the state of the turbines, mainly due to the complex
structure and operational environment of turbine units. As far as the
authors are aware, minimal research exists of the monitoring of
cracks in Francis turbine blades.
Acoustic emission (AE) technique, a passive non-destructive test-
ing (NDT) method, is very sensitive to crack and failure of materi-
als and structures. It has been widely used for inspection and
monitoring in non-destructive evaluation [2, 3]. This research paper
aims to recognize the AE characteristics of fatigue cracks in the blade
material, and will then compare the characteristics with those
received from background noise on site.
EXPERIMENTS
Three-point bending fatigue test
Hydraulic pressure produces bending stress on the blades when run-
ners operate under stable state [4]. Crack signals of a blade material
from the three-point bending fatigue test were received in order to
obtain their AE characteristics under the bending fatigue loading. The
material generally usedfor blades, 20SiMn, was chosen. The three-point
bend (SENB) specimen was machined according to the ASTMstandard
E647 [5], i.e. SWB=2406020 (mm
3
). The specimen was pre-
cracked by electric spark line cutting (8mmlength).
The specimen was tested in the load-controlled mode of an Instron
8801 servohydraulic test machine at room temperature. The crack
length was measured using the compliance method by a crack open-
ing displacement (COD) gauge. The experimental setup is given in
Figure 1. Two SR150 AE sensors (50-400 kHz) and two model 2/4/6
pre-amplifiers (10K10k- 2M Hz) were chosen. Signal conditioning
was performed by the preamplifiers. The conditioning signal was
fed to the main data acquisition board. The AE parameters and
waveforms were recorded via Physical Acoustics Corporation
SAMOS system. All the data were processed by a computer. In addi-
tion, the sensors were mounted on the symmetrical positions 50mm
away fromthe pre-crack line. The interface between the AE sensors
and the specimen was filled with vaseline in order to keep the trans-
mission performance of the signal.
The specimen was subjected to cyclic tension-tension loading in
the sinusoidal wave shape with an R-ratio of 0.1. The applied load
range was determined from the geometry of the test specimens and
material properties and remained fixed (maximum23 KN) through-
out the test. In order to reduce the testing time, the loading frequency
was set to 10Hz as it had little effect on fatigue crack growth [6].
Receiving background noise
The background noise was received from the No. 1 turbine unit of
Yantan power station (Figure 2). The rated speed of the unit is 75 r/min,
the operating power is 302.5MWand the water head is 55m. The same
Figure 1 Experimental setup
Hydraulic turbine runners are subjected to cyclic steady stress and vibratory alternate
stress, which can often lead to cracks on the turbine blades. Research has been carried out
on the application of the acoustic emission technique to detect crack signals on the blade
Sounding out fatigue cracks
Figure 2 Receiving the background noise on site
Table 1 Test parameter setup
Parameter type Instrument set values
Threshold value 42dB
Peak Definition Time 300s
Hit Definition Time 600s
Hit Lockout Time 1000s
Sample rate 1MHz
Filter on board(low) 20kHz
Filter on board(high) 400kHz
Pre-amplifier gain 40dB
Pre-trigger 50s
Hit length 1K
AE sensors and acquisition systemwith the fatigue tests were used.
The AE testing parameter setup for the two tests was the same and
is shown in Table 1. The threshold of 42 dB was determined in the
fatigue tests, which was just above the background noise level deter-
mined using a dummy specimen without a slot when the hydraulic
power supply was turned on.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
The correlation of the AE amplitude versus loading cycle during the
fatigue test is plotted in Figure 3. It shows that the amplitude of crack
signal is mainly concentrated on 68-73 dB, except for a small
amount of signals with 49-53 dB during the initial stage of fatigue
test. Thus, the AE amplitude can be considered one of methods to
recognize and extract the crack signal.
The correlation of duration versus energy is shown in Figure 4. It
indicates that the duration is proportional to the energy because the
duration reflects the releasing mode of energy. The plot of the dura-
tion of the AE events against their energy can be used to monitor the
onset of failure. Events with evident higher durations and energies may
predict failure approached. For the specimen, the failure initiates while
the duration is above 840s and the energy is above 2500 counts.
The AE characteristics of the fatigue crack signals and the back-
ground noise are listed in Table 2. It shows that the AE parameters
of the two kinds of signals are very different. The rise time and dura-
tion of the crack signals are shorter than those of the background
noise. The amplitude is between 49dB and 74dB, which is lower
than that in the background noise (90-99dB). The peak frequency
is above 80 kHz while it is below 60 kHz in the noise.
The waveforms and the corresponding spectrograms of both the
crack signals and the background noise are shown in Figure 5. The
maximumamplitude of the noise is 1.5V, which is greater than that
in the metal crack signal, 0.3V. The energy of the background noise
is mainly concentrated on 30-55 kHz while it is concentrated on 60-
150 kHz for the crack signal.
Both the AE parameters and the waveforms indicate the differ-
ence of the two kinds of signals. The reason is the different mecha-
nisms of the two kinds of signals produced. The AE source of the
ductile blade material is very weak [7], so the amplitude is low.
However, the background noise is made up of periodic vibration sig-
nals of turbine units, which has a longer duration and rise time and
a lower frequency range. As a result, through suitable signal pro-
cessing methods, it is possible to extract the useful crack signals
when the signal-to-noise ratio is lower.
CONCLUSIONS
The AE amplitude range of crack signals of the blade material is
between 49 dB and 74 dB, but it mainly concentrates on 68-73 dB.
The AE energy and duration are useful parameters to embody blade
failure. The failure initiates while the duration is above 840s and
the energy is above 2500 counts in the tests.
The values of the AE parameters of fatigue crack signals and back-
ground noise are very different because of the different producing
WWW.WATERPOWERMAGAZINE.COM JANUARY 2009 41
mechanisms. The background noise is continuous vibration signal,
which has longer duration and rise time and lower frequency range
and amplitude. As a result, the two kinds of signals can be distin-
guished by the AE parameter filtration and the extraction of the
crack signals with the low signal-to-noise ratio.
To summarize, the AE technique could be considered an effec-
tive tool to monitor fatigue cracks in turbine runners. The next
stage of this work will focus on the study of a suitable signal pro-
cessing method.
Xianghong Wang and Changming Zhu, School of
Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Jiaotong University,
1954 Huashan Road, Shanghai 200030, China*
Hanling Mao, Guangxi Radio and TV University,
Nanning 530004, China*
Zhenfeng Huang, School of Mechanical Engineering,
Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China*
REFURBISHMENT
1000
800
600
400
D
u
r
a
t
i
o
n
(

s
)
1000
Energy (count)
2000 3000
72
66
60
54
48
A
m
p
l
i
t
u
d
e
(
d
B
)
0.0 0.4 0.8
Cycle
1.2 1.6
x10
5
300 200 100 0 0 500
Time (s) Frequency (kHz)
300 200 100 0
Frequency (kHz)
1000
0 500
Time (s)
1000
0 500 1000
0 500 1000 300 200 100 0
300 200 100 0
0.2
0
-0.2
A
m
p
l
i
t
u
d
e
(
V
)
1
0
-1
A
m
p
l
i
t
u
d
e
(
V
)
0.2
0.1
0
A
m
p
l
i
t
u
d
e
(
V
)
0.06
0.04
-0.02
0
A
m
p
l
i
t
u
d
e
(
V
)
(a) (b)
(c) (d)
From left to right: Figure 3 AE amplitude versus loading cycles; Figure 4 AE Energy versus duration; Figure 5 Waveforms and FFT spectra of fatigue AE
signal (a) time domain, (b) frequency domain and background noise (c) time domain, (d) frequency domain
References
[1] Fisher D, The cause of runner crack and the solutions implement for the
Xiaolangdi Hydroelectric project, in: Proceedings of the XXIst IAHR
symposium on Hydraulic machinery and systems, Lausanne, 2002, pp. 9-12
[2] Ennaceur C, Laksimi A, Herve C, Cherfaoui M. Monitoring crack growth
in pressure vessel steels by the acoustic emission technique and the
method of potential difference. International Journal of Pressure Vessels
and Piping, 2006,83(3):197-204.
[3] Mba D,Hall L D. The transmission of acoustic emission across large-
scale turbine rotors. NDT & E International, 2002,35(8):529-539.
[4] Carpinteri A, Brighenti R, Huth H-J, Vantadori S. Fatigue growth of a
surface crack in a welded T-joint. International Journal of Fatigue,
2005,27(1):59-69.
[5] ASTM, ASTM E647-05: Standard Test Method for Measurement of
Fatigue Crack Growth Rates, in Annual Book of ASTM Standard. 2005.
[6] Huth H J, Fatigue Design of Hydraulic Turbine Runners. Trondheim:
Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 2005, pp.61-72.
[7] Moorthy V, Jayakumar T, Raj B. Influence of micro structure on acoustic
emission behavior during stage 2 fatigue crack growth in solution
annealed, thermally aged and weld specimens of AISI type 316 stainless
steel. Materials Science and Engineering A, 1996,212(2):273-280.
The authors wish to express their gratitude to Institute of Electricity
Experiment and Yantan water power plant, Guangxi province, for their
assistance in undertaking this investigation. This research is supported by the
National Natural Science Foundation of China under grant number 50465002.
IWP&DC
Table 2: AE Parameters of the fatigue
crack signals and background noise
Type Rise time Duration Amplitude Peak Frequency
Crack <290s <900s 49-74dB 83-184kHz
Noise <66s 334s or so 90-97dB 39-60kHz
42 JANUARY 2009 INTERNATIONAL WATER POWER & DAM CONSTRUCTION
SOFTWARE
flaws in that solution can then inform the next, and so on.
A case in point would be the recent scheme at Glendoe in
Scotland, where First Minister Alex Salmond closed the damgate in
September 2008. Glendoe will play a crucial role in meeting
Scotlands and the UKs renewable energy targets, but Energy
Minister Jim Mather warned that we are unlikely to see much in
the way of further large scale developments.
This is not to say large scale opportunities dont exist, but that we
Getting to the bottom of it
The availability of grant funding, improvements in the planning process and a steadily
improving public acceptance are making more hydro schemes viable but finding sites
can still drain resources. A new approach to site identification dramatically reduces the
need for speculative site visits, and opens the market for small and micro hydro
customers. Nick Forrest gives IWP&DC an insight into the development of Hydrobot
R
EADERS will be aware of the opposition to large hydro
developments from ecologists and the debate that has
opened in the environmental community. We have a trade-
off between the environmental, social and economic bene-
fits of a newrenewable energy installation, versus the environmental
and cultural impacts of the structure. The best answer at any one
time would be one reached by a healthy democratic process where
opinions on each side are heard and evidence assessed equally. The
Hydrobot is the model used by Nick Forrest
Associates to model Scotlands hydro potential
WWW.WATERPOWERMAGAZINE.COM JANUARY 2009 43
may need to lay off the valley-flooding for a bit. In five or ten years
it may be time to look again.
This puts the spotlight on small hydro (up to 5MW or so) where
small impoundments or even run-of-river schemes will suffice.
Engineering consultancies across the world are dusting off their
ultrasonic transducers, but it seems many small landowners are put
off by the upfront cost of a pre-feasibility study: 500 (US$765) to
perhaps be told theres no potential at all. And the poor old devel-
opers are having to visit ten unsuitable sites for every good one.
Then theres the planning process, costs of development and oppo-
sition from fisheries which, in Scotland, mean all hydro is presumed
guilty until proven innocent. This is not the route to JimMathers sus-
tainable and profitable future in smaller and micro hydro schemes.
Enter Hydrobot, a new approach to hydro site identification
which could solve many of these problems. Hydrobot is a combined
geographical information system(GIS) and financial assessment tool,
designed to mimic a quarter of a million hydro engineers tramping
up and down the hills of Scotland finding hydro sites. The model
first hit the headlines when it was commissioned by the Forum for
Renewable Energy Development in Scotland (FREDS), on behalf of
the Scottish Government, to assess the nations remaining hydro
potential. The resulting Scottish Hydropower Resource Study had
the remit of identifying the main barriers to hydro development in
Scotland [see p12]. Now that the government has verified hydros
contribution to renewables targets could be significant, it is com-
mitting resources to tackling the barriers to hydro development.
Confidence and further competition within the industry should bring
prices down, but developers may still waste valuable time and resources
poring over large estates. Hydrobot can be applied to any land area
within Scotland and the top sites supplied to those developers.
DEVELOPING HYDROBOT
Hydrobot was first conceived as a university project, and operated
as a series of processes rather than a single model. It was initially
used to analyse the catchments of the North and South Esk near
Edinburgh. After this, the model followed two very different devel-
opment paths. In 2007 I qualified for the Starter for 6 initiative,
which is run by the National Endowment for Science, Technology
and the Arts (NESTA). Starter for 6 is an enterprise support project,
and provided funding that allowed me to establish a web portal for
Hydrobot, and to develop the model for micro hydro applications.
When FREDS launched a competition in late 2007 to survey
Scotland for hydro potential, Hydrobot was an obvious contender
as it was already running, albeit for micro hydro. Developing the
model to cover the whole of Scotland and bolting on other required
features was relatively fast and economic, compared to what it
would have taken any other consortiumto do the same job. Costing
and calibration was directed by Black & Veatch, with environmen-
tal and grid impacts analysed by SISTech Ltd.
Needless to say, other development was put on hold during the
undertaking of the Scottish Hydropower Resource Study. As a result
the online version only went live on 29 October 2008. It will pri-
marily identify micro hydro schemes to begin with, though the other
features used in the Scottish study that model larger schemes will be
phased in over time.
Meanwhile the core Hydrobot model is being used and developed
for clients requiring a larger or more specific service. The basic ser-
vice will cost 35 (US$54) for a 1km
2
tile, including VAT. The client
receives a pdf report including a map illustrating the layout of the
scheme, and a table summarising the size, costs and profits for each
identified scheme. There could be several schemes within that area.
By comparison, a traditional hydro pre-feasibility study, including
site visit, would cost between 3-600 (US$459-918).
HOW TO BUILD AN ARTIFICIAL ENGINEER
So how does it work? Obviously the exact algorithms are commer-
cially sensitive, but heres an outline. Hydrobot is based on a surface
flowmodel derived fromelevation data in 10mx 10msquares across
the whole of Scotland. Every watercourse has been modelled to give
21 exceedence levels on the annual flowduration curve at any point.
The accuracy of the predicted flows has been tested against measured
flows away fromestablished gauging stations, and also examined by
the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA).
A range of grid connections are possible, depending on the loca-
tion and size of the scheme:
Domestic connection at 240V or 400V.
Connection to an existing 11kV line.
Connection to the 33kV network by installing a new 11kV or
33kV line, and connecting either at an existing substation or by
constructing a new substation.
The model takes two approaches to site identification. There are sev-
eral hundred weir locations already listed by the model, and each of
these is tested. Turbine size and hence power output are based on
head and flow, but adjusted to take into account environmental sen-
sitivity of the area. The costs of each element of the equipment,
installation, connection and management costs are then calculated
taking into account site conditions. These costs equations were
empirically derived using data provided by Black & Veatch. The
power output of the scheme is calculated, using one of four turbine
efficiency curves depending on the head to flow ratio. This leads to
the calculation of the revenue and, by applying a discount rate to
future revenues and costs, to the net present value.
More importantly, Hydrobot identifies sites where there is no
existing infrastructure. Firstly areas are selected with a minimum
slope reflecting that of operational hydro schemes, based on expe-
rience and historical data. Hydrobot places a turbine at the lower
extreme of the slope, and simulates a 20m penstock. The full cost
and revenue calculations are conducted as for weir sites above, to
produce a valuation of that layout. Hydrobot then extends the pen-
stock to 40m and repeats the exercise, typically with a lower flow
but a higher head. In this way the model simulates a range of pen-
stocks up to 1.5km. If one or more profitable solutions have
emerged, Hydrobot moves the turbine 20m upstream and repeats
the whole exercise. And this process will continue, meaning that
many hundreds of layouts may be tested within one area. When no
more viable layouts can be found, all the solutions are compared to
SOFTWARE
Schemes intersecting selected tiles within NN62SW. If valid solutions were
found, red dots mark turbine sites and red lines show suggested penstock
route. Blue numbers denote specific turbines
44 JANUARY 2009 INTERNATIONAL WATER POWER & DAM CONSTRUCTION
SOFTWARE
select the best, based on preferences that reflect the investment pro-
files of different client-groups.
Multiple intakes are simulated by attempting to join nearby trib-
utaries into a scheme, re-evaluating the combination, and compar-
ing to the sum of the parts. Other tricks involve removing existing
schemes, and simulating off-grid schemes, though the latter was not
used in the Scottish study.
But what about dams? Storage schemes have not been forgotten.
For every suitable site, the surrounding terrain is examined to deter-
mine whether it would be suitable for construction of a dam. This
is based on the profile of valleys in Scotland where dams have been
constructed for hydro projects, and depends on the slope and height
of the banks, the width of the valley floor, and the flowin the water-
course. Where a site is deemed suitable, the additional head and
greater efficiency of the systemare taken into account, as well as the
additional costs, and the site is re-evaluated. Again, it is compared
to run-of-river options at the same site to determine whether a dam
would be preferable.
By modelling multiple intakes on run-of-river schemes, and with
the inclusion of storage schemes, Hydrobot identified over 1000
potential small hydro schemes across Scotland of up to 5MW, with
a handful of schemes larger than this.
WHO GETS WHAT?
The approach that Hydrobot takes, as described above, models how
an engineer might identify a micro or small hydro scheme. Therefore
it is appropriate for four principle audiences:
The small landowner or farmer, who may have one site in mind.
The developer, who may want the top sites in their region.
The larger estate owner, who wants to knowthe potential on their
land and where to begin.
Governments and local authorities, who want to know the con-
tribution that hydro can make to their targets, and howto release
the bottlenecks.
Previous clients include the Scottish Government, the Forestry
Commission, and multiple small estate and farmowners, and we are
in discussions with several local authorities as well as developers and
utilities. For each of these users Hydrobot can help reduce the time
and finances required to identify sites with potential. For some it is
equally important to see how the results change as market condi-
tions fluctuate or grants become available. After the initial cus-
tomisation to users needs, Hydrobot can be re-run with different
input values at very little extra cost. This allows developers and
landowners to quantify risk in more detail, which is especially rele-
vant in the current economic climate.
A further benefit to re-running the model is the change in our
other climate the weather. As the flowregimes in river systems alter,
becoming more extreme in their flood-drought cycles in the UK, the
viability of many hydro schemes must be re-examined. Flowregimes
can be adjusted for a whole country with Hydrobot, and the site
identification process repeated. In this way, renewable energy policy
can also be risk-reduced.
FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS
Automated hydro site identification has taken a leap forward with
the modelling of Scotland using Hydrobot in 2008. The resulting
report champions the potential for grid-connected small hydro to
contribute to national renewables targets. Hydrobot was developed
to answer questions being asked in Scotland at this time, but what
other questions are being asked?
What about the potential for off-grid schemes?
What about private networks and community schemes?
Can you model other countries? Across the whole world?
Can you model pumped storage?
What about combining wind and pumped storage?
Can you model the water treatment network?
Dont forget large hydro!
As a consultant, my answer to all of the above questions is yes, of
course. And as the model becomes more sophisticated with each
future version, it is likely that Scotlands total resource will be refined.
There may be an increase in the total as gaps such as off-grid and
large hydro are filled. We would hope that the total will start to
reduce as more and more of the identified sites are developed. We
would hope to be producing results for other countries too, so that
we start to put a clear number on the global potential for hydro.
But which question is being asked most urgently? This will
determine the direction that Hydrobot takes over the next 12
months and beyond. Im sorry, but I have to say it Hydrobot will
go with the flow.
Nick Forrest is Managing Director of Nick Forrest
Associates Ltd and Hydrobot Ltd. He is also a director of
babyHydro Ltd, a new full services company established
to develop small scale hydro schemes in Scotland from
feasibility to operation
The Hydrobot online service is available at
http://www.nickforrestassoc.co.uk.
For further information please contact
nick.forrest100@btinternet.com
IWP&DC
Map of Scotland with dots indicating 36,252 sites analysed by Hydrobot, of
which 1019 were found to be financially viable for commercial development
as of August 2008
Every great advance in
science has issued from
a new audacity of
imagination."
J. Dewey
July 2730, 2009
Mark Your Calendar.
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PROFESSIONAL DIRECTORY
46 JANUARY 2009 INTERNATIONAL WATER POWER & DAM CONSTRUCTION
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tecbarragem@tecbarragem.com.br
Brazil: +55 11. 5181. 2527
...SUPPORTI NG AND
COOPERATI NG I N
CONSTRUCTI ON...
Stellba Hydro AG Stellba Hydro GmbH & Co KG
Langgas 2 Badenbergstrasse 30
CH-5244 Birrhard D-89520 Heidenheim
Switzerland Germany
Telefon +41 (0)56 201 45 20 Telefon +49 (0)7321 96 92 0
Telefax +41 (0)56 201 45 21 Telefax +49 (0)7321 6 20 73
Internet www.stellba-hydro.ch Internet www.stellba.de
E-Mail info@stellba-hydro.ch E-Mail info@stellba.de
USE WWW.WATERPOWERMAGAZINE.COM TO DRIVE CUSTOMERS TO YOUR SITE
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WORLD MARKETPLACE
48 JANUARY 2009 INTERNATIONAL WATER POWER & DAM CONSTRUCTION
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CYLINDERS
Rexroth
Bosch Group
Bosch Rexroth B.V.
Cylinders
Application based standard cylinder designs for;
radial gates, roller and slide gates, butterfly and
ball valves, turbine regulation, navigational locks
and movable bridges.
Bosch Rexroth B.V.
Contact: Mr Bob Lamers, Tel: +31 411 651 778
www.boschrexroth.com
Mail to: cylinders@boschrexroth.com
CRANES
+\GUDXOLF VWHHO VWUXFWXUHV
7UDVKUDFN FOHDQLQJ V\VWHPV
Hans Kunz GmbH Gerbestrae l5 697l Hard - Austria
T +43 5574 6883 0 P +43 5574 6883 l9
www.kuenz.com saleskuenz.com servicekuenz.com
+\GUDXOLF VWHHO VWUXFWXUHV
7UDVKUDFN FOHDQLQJ V\VWHPV
Hans Kunz GmbH Gerbestrae l5 697l Hard - Austria
T +43 5574 6883 0 P +43 5574 6883 l9
www.kuenz.com saleskuenz.com servicekuenz.com
GATES
FILTRATION EQUIPMENT
GROUTING
ARSAInt Construction Co. (pjs)
Head Office: No. 12 Shohada St
Mirzaye Shirazi Ave
TEHRAN 1586756513, I.R. IRAN
Tel: +98 21 88717220 Fax: +98 21 88721847
Email: info@arsa.ir Website: www.arsa.ir
HEAT EXCHANGERS
Enerfin Inc.
5125 J.A. Bombardier, St-Hubert
(Quebec) Canada, J3Z 1G4
Tel: + 1 450 443-3366
Fax: +1 450 443-0711
Email: sales@enerfin-inc.com
Website: www.enerfin-inc.com
HIGH QUALITY COOLERS FOR:
Hydro Generators
Thrust Bearings
Transformers
Synchronous Condensers
Turbo Generators
Air Preheaters, etc.
Custom Design To Suit Your Application
Extruded Fins
Dam & Hydropower
Drilling & Grouting
Piling & Cast In Place Piles
Cutoff Diagram Wall
Tunneling
Heavy Concrete Construction
Providing water control solutions through thoughtful engineering,
innovative design, attention to detail and outstanding customer
service. Contact us for inflatable water control gates and rubber
dams.
PO Box 668, Fort Collins, CO 80522 USA
Tel: 970-568-9844
www.obermeyerhydro.com
Custom Design Hydraulic Cylinders
Servomotors
Piston Accumulators'
Hydraulic Power Units
Control Panels
www.doucehydro.com
Douce Hydro FRANCE, USA and GERMANY
Tel France: + 33 / 3 22 74 31 08 ; E-mail: afleroy@doucehydro.com
Tel USA: + 1 / 586 566 4725 ; E-mail: fvandenbulke@doucehydro.com
Tel Germany: + 49 / 177 398 37 78 ; E-mail : ublase-henke@doucehydro.com
BEARINGS
PAN

bronzes
and
PAN

-GF
self-lubricating bearings
Since 1931
- Superior quality with
Highest wear resistance
Low maintenance
Or maintenance free
- Extended operating life
PAN-Metallgesellschaft
P.O. Box 102436 D-68024 Mannheim / Germany
Phone: + 49 621 42 303-0 Fax: + 49 621 42 303-33
kontakt@pan-metall.com www.pan-metall.com
BEARING OIL COOLERS
HEXECO, Inc. ... a Heat Exchanger Engineering Co.
Tel: +1 (920) 361-3440 Fax: +1 (920) 361-4554
E-Mail: info.wpd@hexeco.com Web: www.hexeco.com
OIL COOLERS
For
THRUST and
GUIDE
BEARINGS
CONCRETE COOLING
COLD & ICE WATERPLANTS
FLAKE ICE PLANTS
ICE DELIVERY & WEIGHING SYSTEMS
ICE STORAGES
KTI-Plersch Kltetechnik GmbH
Carl-Otto-Weg 14/2
88481 Balzheim
Germany
Tel:/Phone: +49 - 7347 - 95 72 - 0
Fax: +49 - 7347 - 95 72 - 22
Email: ice@kti-plersch.com
Website: www.kti-plersch.com
CONCRETE COOLING
Telephone +44 (0)20 8269 7854
I N T E R N A T I O N A L
&DAMCONSTRUCTION
WaterPower
WORLD MARKETPLACE
WWW.WATERPOWERMAGAZINE.COM JANUARY 2009 49
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HYDRO CASTINGS
HYDROMECHANICAL
EQUIPMENT
Water turbine components
Castings from 100 kg to 30 tons
Latest CAD-CAM capabilities
Certified Quality Assurance ISO 9001
Environmental Management System ISO14001
Your contact: Mr. Timo Norvasto, Sales Manager
Lokomo Steel Foundry
Tel: +358 204 84 4222
Fax: +358 204 84 4233
Email: timo.norvasto@metso.com
Web: www.metsofoundries.com
DSD NOELL GmbH
HYDROMECHANICAL EQUIPMENT
Engineering, design, fabrication and
installation of hydraulic steel structures
such as gates, penstocks, stoplogs,
trashracks including appurtenant drives
and electrical control systems as well as
the rehabilitation of existing plants.
Alfred-Nobel-Strae 20,
97080Wrzburg, Germany
Phone (+49) 931 903-1215
Fax (+49) 931 903-1009
Internet: www.dsd-noell.com
e-mail: sales@dsd-noell.com
HYDRO POWER
PLANT EQUIPMENT
N World wide referenced water to wire General Contractor
N Turbines and Generators
N Electromechanical Equipment
N Switchgears
N Control Protection Monitoring and SCADA Systems
N Balance of the Plant
N Turn key projects
N Rehabilitation
S.T.E. S.p.a. - Via Sorio, 120 - 35141, PADOVA(Italy)
tel. +39 049 2963900 - fax. +39 049 2963901
Email: ste@ste-energy.com Web: www.ste-energy.com
ISO 9001 CERTIFIED
ANDRITZ HYDRO GmbH
Penzinger Strasse 76, A-1141 Vienna, Austria
Phone: +43.1.89100-2659, Fax: +43.1.8946046
contact@andritz-hydro.com www.andritz-hydro.com
Your partner for renewable energy.
Hydro Power.
We focus on the best solution from water to wire.
Voith Siemens Hydro
Power Generation GmbH & Co. KG
Alexanderstrae 11
89522 Heidenheim/Germany
Barbara Fischer-Aupperle
Tel. +49-7321-37 68 48
Fax +49-7321-37 78 28
www.voithsiemens.com
Water power plant equipment
(electrical and mechanical)
Pumps
Governors
Automation
Modernization of existing power plants
Management services
Contact:
INSTRUMENTATION
(DAM MONITORING)
Geokon, Incorporated manufactures a full range
of geotechnical instrumentation suitable for
monitoring dams. Geokon instrumentation employs
vibrating wire technology that provides measurable
advantages and proven long-term stability.
The World Leader in
Vibrating Wire Technology
TM
Geokon, Incorporated
48 Spencer Street
Lebanon, New Hampshire
03766

USA
Dam Monitoring Instrumentation
1

603

448

1562
1

603

448

3216
info@geokon.com
www.geokon.com
Alstom Hydro offers a complete range of equipment and services for
both new and existing hydro power plants, including:
Turbines & generators for all sizes
Pump turbines, fixed/variable speed generators motors
Control & protection systems
Refurbishment and upgrade
Services
Small hydro
Hydro-mechanical and lifting equipment
4 Avenue Andr Malraux,
92309 Levallois-Perret Cedex,
France.
T: +33 1 41 49 20 00
F: + 33 1 41 49 37 52
E: hydro.comm@power.alstom.com
W: www.hydro.power.alstom.com
Alstom Hydro:
Vikas Kothari: Executive Director Tel: 91 11 29565552 TO 55
Om Metals Infraprojects Ltd. Fax: 91 11 29565551
4th Floor, NBCC Plaza, Mobile: 91 98110 68101
Tower III, Sector 5, Email: vikas@ommetals.com
Pushp Vihar, info@ommetals.com
Saket, New Delhi, 110 017, INDIA Web: www.ommetals.com
Turnkey EPC contracts for:
Radial Gates Trash Racks & TRCM
Vertical Gates Gantry Cranes & EOT
Penstocks Mechanical/ Hydraulic Hoists
Stoplogs Draft Tubes
Turnkey EPC contracts for:
Radial Gates Trash Racks & TRCM
Vertical Gates Gantry Cranes & EOT
Penstocks Mechanical/ Hydraulic Hoists
Stoplogs Draft Tubes
Om Metals
WORLD MARKETPLACE
50 JANUARY 2009 INTERNATIONAL WATER POWER & DAM CONSTRUCTION
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STEEL CASTING
SMALL HYDROELECTRIC
POWER SETS
MICRO/SMALL
HYDROELECTRIC POWER SETS
- HYDRO TURBINES
PELTON
FRANCIS
KAPLAN
UP TO 10 MW
- CONTROL
TECHNOLOGY

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Global Hydro Energy GmbH
4085 Niederranna 41, Austria, info@hydro-energy.com
INSTRUMENTATION
(PROCESS CONTROL)
PROCESS CONTROL SYSTEMS
Measuring and control systems for water
treatment and energy management
Equipment, components and complete
systems on a turnkey basis for the segments of:
- the water, gas, and electricity supply sectors
- the waste disposals sectors (water treatment
and sewage)
- hydroelectric power stations
- hydrography
Consulting, design, and project engineering,
installation, training, and service
Rittmeyer Ltd.
PO Box 464, 6341 Baar
Switzerland
Phone: +41 41 767 10 00
Fax: +41 41 767 10 75
sales@rittmeyer.com
www.rittmeyer.com
Partial Discharge?
www.pdix.com
PARTIAL DISCHARGE DETECTION
INSTRUMENTATION
(GEOTECHNICAL)
WORLD MARKETPLACE
WWW.WATERPOWERMAGAZINE.COM JANUARY 2009 51
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TRASHRACK RAKES
+\GUDXOLF VWHHO VWUXFWXUHV
7UDVKUDFN FOHDQLQJ V\VWHPV
Hans Kunz GmbH Gerbestrae l5 697l Hard - Austria
T +43 5574 6883 0 P +43 5574 6883 l9
www.kuenz.com saleskuenz.com servicekuenz.com
VALVES FOR HYDROELECTRIC POWER PLANTS
Butterfly Valves
Spherical Valves
Cone Jet Valves
Needle Valves
Spleeve Valves
Pressure Reducing Valves
Airation Valves
Adams Schweiz AG
Austrasse 49, CH 8045 Zrich, Switzerland
Phone: +41 (0) 44 461 54 15
Fax: +41 (0) 44 461 50 20
e-mail: sales@adamsarmaturen.ch
Internet: www.adamsarmaturen.ch
VALVES
One of the world's
leading manufacturers
of high-quality valves
for dams and
hydropower
even in
www.vag-group.com
X
X
L
X
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L
WATER TURBINES
WATERPROOFING
WATERPROOFING AND PROTECTION
of concrete and RCC dams,
embankment dams, hydraulic tunnels,
canals, reservoirs
WITH FLEXIBLE SYNTHETIC MEMBRANES
Turnkey projects: design manufacturing,
supply, installation.
CARPI TECH S.A.
Corso San Gottardo 86
CH 6830 Chiasso - Switzerland
Tel: +41 91 695 4000 Fax: +41 91 695 4009
Email: info@carpitech.com Web: www.carpitech.com
CKD Blansko
Holding, a.s.
Gellhornova 1,
678 18 Blansko
Czech Republic
tel.: +420 516 401 111
fax: +420 516 413 620
hydro@ckdblansko.cz
www.ckdblansko.cz
Reliable
Hydro Power
Hydraulic Turbines
Francis, Kaplan, Pelton,
Deriaz, Large and Small
Hydro
Hydro-Mechanical
Equipment
Valves, Gates and Others
Turnkey Projects
New Instalations,
Upgrading,
Refurbishment
Own Hydraulic
Laboratory
Hydro
Turbines
Specialists for
refurbishment of pel-
ton and francis turbines
Partner for
revision of hydraulic
machines and valves
Practitioners with
9 hydro power plants
we speak hydro
Grimsel Hydro
3862 Innertkirchen
Switzerland
+41 33 982 27 00
www.grimselhydro.ch
Stronger together.
TUNNELING
CIFA S.p.A. Via Stati Uniti dAmerica, 26
>> 20030 Senago (MI) >> Tel. +39 02 990 131
>> Fax +39 02 998 1157 >> www.cifa.com
Member of the Group of companies
Glenfield Valves Ltd your specialist manufacturer of Discharge,
Control and Isolating Valves for:
Dams and Reservoirs
Water Transmission Pipelines
Power Stations.
For a world wide network of
manufacturing and service
organisations offering local
support please contact:
Glenfield Works, Queens Drive,
Kilmarnock, Ayrshire,
KA1 3XF, UK
T: +44 1563 521150
F: +44 1563 541013
E: enquiries@glenfield.co.uk
W: www.glenfield.co.uk
Hydro Power.
We generate added value for you.
Service & Rehab provides solutions,
products and services over the entire
life cycle of hydro power plants:
Plant Assessment General Overhaul
Rehabilitation Upgrading and Mod-
ernization Integrated Plant Control
NEPTUN Feasibility Studies Resi-
ANDRITZ HYDRO GmbH
Penzinger Strasse 76, A-1141 Vienna, Austria
Phone: +43.1.89100-2659, Fax: +43.1.8946046
contact@andritz-hydro.com
www.andritz-hydro.com
dual Life Analysis Risk Assessment
Training Services. The combination of
our global competence with our local
presence guarantees competent and
on-the-spot response.
Service & Rehab Your partner nearby.