National Seminar on Large Dam

Mataram, 25th - 27th May 2018

An Overview of Dams Sedimentation Analyses,

with Special Reference to Batujai Dam

Yusron Saadi
Department of Civil Engineering University of Mataram
Lombok NTB - Indonesia
 Outline

 Background
 Past Researches on Batujai
Dam Sedimentation
 Results and Discussion
 Conclusion
 Recommendation
 Acknowledgement
 Background (1)

Lombok Factfile
Area 20153,15 km2
Population 4.56 million
Density 599/km2
 Background (2)
 Batujai Dam was built between 1977-1982 with
the storage capacity of 25 million m3 and the
maximum depth of 18 m
 Since its construction, the dam was a jewel of
hydraulic structures in West Nusa Tenggara
Province
 It brings spirit and optimism
to both the official and the
local people
 For many years Batujai Dam
was a main tourist destination
for native Sasak and also people
from surrounding island (pupil
school and students were
expecting to visit it as a pilgrimage)
 Past Researches (1)
 Saadi (1993)
• An undergraduate thesis, 11 years after
impounding
• Analysed potential sedimentation rate based on a
very limited secondary data

 Saadi (2007)
• Measurement of suspended
sediment concentration in 3
rivers
• Developed suspended
sediment rating curve
• Estimated deposited sediment
after 25 years of operation
 Past Researches (3)

 Wakidi (2016)
• The purpose of the research was to estimate the
deposited sediment of Batujai Dam in 2016 and
2032
• Secondary data collection, such as temperature
and rainfall data obtained from nearby station
• Flow discharge was the outflow of Batujai Dam
between 1982-2015 (obtained from AWLR
Station)
• Echosounding data obtained from measurement,
carried out by an engineering consultant in 2005
and other measurement carried out by the
researcher in 2015
 Past Researches (4)

 Supardi (2018)
• The purposes of the research were to estimate the
sedimentation rate of Batujai Dam 35 years after
its operation as well as to obtain information on
the distribution of deposited sediment within the
storage, and also to predict the remaining lifetime
of the dam
• A linear regression was used for sedimentation
analysis
• The analysis of deposited sediment distribution in
the impounding area was using Artificial Neural
Network (ANN) software
 Results and Discussion (1)

 Saadi (2007)
• Suspended sediment rating curve for 3 rivers
100.00

S. Leneng S. Triwubare S. Surabaya

10.00 T
Qs (gr/ltr)

1.00
L
S

0.10

0.01
0.01 0.10 1.00 10.00 100.00
Qw (m3/sec)

o River Leneng : Qs = 0.239 Qw0.228

o River Triwubare : Qs = 0.466 Qw1.173
o River Surabaya : Qs = 0.221 Qw0.046
 Results and Discussion (2)

• Estimated volume of suspended sediment

232719.069 t/yr (11% from Leneng, 60% from
Triwubare, and 29% from Surabaya River
respectively)
• Based on the average inflow factor of 0.093, trap
efficiency of Batujai Dam was 87 % (Brune curve)
• Estimated sediment deposited in Batujai Dam
after 25 years of operation was approximately
3,95 million m3
 Results and Discussion (3)

 Wakidi (2016)
• In 2016 the volume of sedimentation of Batujai Dam
was 1,445 million m3 exceeding the dead storage
proposed volume capacity of 1,400 million m3
• When the dam reachs its 50 years of operation in year
2032 the volume of sediment would be 2,482 million
m3. This means the amount of sedimentation volume
has exceeded the prediction of the dead storage
capacity by 1,082,222 m3
• This suggest that Batujai Dam is no longer in operation
since the proposed dead storage capacity has been
exceeded in 2016. Considering the fact that the dam is
still in operation, it is argued that dredging activities
conducted by Nusa Tenggara I River Basin Organisation
(BWS NT I) in 2014 is the main reason that preserve the
function of the dam
 Results and Discussion (4)

• Further analysis states otherwise. The inclusion of

the dredging data from BWS NT I in 2014 when
95,187.68 m3 of deposited sediment were taken
from the impounding area only postponed the
exceedance of dead storage capacity a year later,
which means in year 2017 Batujai Dam is no
longer in operation with 1,402,731 m3 of sediment
was deposited in the dead storage
• Further argument has been
forwarded that the longtime
practices in traditional brick
making during dry season by
resident from nearby village
contribute to the preservation
of Batujai Dam
 Results and Discussion (5)

• Contrary to the calculation above, Wakidi (2016)

produced a chart estimating the sediment volume from
the first to the 65th year of Batujai Dam operation.

• The results are relatively low, where the average

sedimentation rate within the period of 1982 to 2015
was 41,118 m3 and increased to 68,872 m3 within the
period of 2016 to 2048.

• Considering this calculation,

Sediment volume (m3)
a longer time to fill dead
storage of Batujai Dam
can be expected.

Year of operation
 Results and Discussion (6)

 Supardi (2018)
• Probably more encouraging results for dam authorities
• The storage capacity decrease from 24,824,200 m3 in
1982 to 18,615,000 m3 in 2005. The capacity continued
to decrease but at a slower rate. In 2012 the storage
capacity was predicted equal to 16,669,200 m3 and
decreased further to 15,587,200 m3 in 2017.
• It can be summarized that from 1982 to 2017 Batujai
Dam has loss a considerable sum
of 9,236,900 m3 or 37.72% of its
IMPOUNDING AREA
(m ) 2

capacity. Considering the proposed

effective storage capacity of
23,502,000 m3 the remaining ELEVATION (m)

effective storage capacity of

Batujai Dam is about 66,32%.

STORAGE CAPACITY (m3)

 Results and Discussion (7)

• In order to predict the lifetime of Batujai Dam,

Supardi (2018) analysed the relationship between
sedimentation rate and sediment elevation from
1982 to 2017 and found out that using linear
regression the lifetime of the dam would be
achieved by 2024 or 42 years after the operation.
This means the dam stop its function 8 years
earlier than originally proposed.
Sedimentation rate (m3/yr)

Year of echosounding measurement

 Conclusion
 The prediction results that Batujai Dam has a shorter lifetime is
commonly shared by all researchers, but there is a big difference
in sedimentation rate in which one method is found to have a
relatively extreme assumption than others. This reflects the
complexity in predicting sedimentation behaviour related to the
performance of Batujai Dam
 The method in predicting the sedimentation rate of Batujai Dam
can be in the form of a very simple technique and solely based
on the nature phenomenon, the others found difficulty when
human intervention such as dredging works in the dam should
be taken into account
 In order to allow sedimentation preventing activities,
measurement of suspended sediment concentration as well as
bedload are necessary. This method allows the identification of
the main contributor of sediment especially when the rivers
flowing into the dam are more than one
 Despite a negative approach, echosounding measurement is still
very useful in the investigation of dam sedimentation where the
rate of deposited sediment can be obtained. In this case the
interval years between measurement should be as close as
possible
 Recommendation
 The upper course of a river are normally the primary area of
sediment production. Traditionally, sediment management
practices in a catchment area tend to treat the symptom of a
problem rather than its cause.
 For the time being the most important aspect related to
sedimentation in any water resources structures such as the
dam is the design of effective sediment control measures
aimed at reduction of sediment yield from the catchment
 Acknowledgement

Acknowledgments are submitted to the Head of Nusa Tenggara

I River Basin Organization (BWS NT I) which has granted
permission to the author for using additional data from the
Reservoir Measurement Report, Sediment Control Study and
the Optimization of the Function of Batujai Reservoir. The
author also wishes to thank Wakidi and Supardi for their
permission to use and extract their Master Thesis allowing the
comparison between studies to be made
Thank you