NAME-ANUSHA GARG

ROLL NUMBER- 19124017

BRANCH- INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY(IT)
GROUP- A4a
SUBJECT- ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES(EST)
ASSIGNMENT- TEHRI DAM PROJECT
INTRODUCTION
The Tehri Dam is the tallest dam in India,2nd highest in Asia and 8th tallest in the
world. It is a multi-purpose rock and earth -fill embankment dam on the
Bhagirathi river near Tehri in Uttarakhand, India. It is the primary dam of the
THDC India Ltd. And the Tehri hydro-electric complex.
This mega project of 2000 MW installed capacity, envisaged construction in
two stages. The stage-I, is termed as Hydropower Plant (HPP) and Stage-II
comprising a Pump Storage Plant (PSP), have an installed capacity of 1000 MW
each. From inception to the year 1988, the project was executed by Irrigation
Department of Uttar Pradesh and afterwards by Tehri Hydro Development
Corpn. Ltd. (THDC).
Construction of Tehri Dam
1. Rocks and External materials used – Consequences
 The Tehri dam rocks are 65% clayey and are thus highly fractured and
ridden by earthquake fault lines. Such fault lines could be reactivated by
the sheer load of the water.
 The swelling of the soil layer can impose a pressure on the rock layers
and tend to crack them. Moreover, when the wet soil layers dry, they
shrink.
 The Tehri dam is built 1.5 km downstream of the confluence of
Bhagirathi and the Bhilangana river. The rocks around the river gorge are
mainly of the Chandpur phyllite kind.
 The rocks here have undergone various magnitudes of tectonic
deformation.
2. Filling the Earth-Rockfill Tehri Dam
 A major input that is required before a dam is built is the permeability
(hydraulic conductivity) of rock masses. When there is a wide variation in
the permeability dependence on an average value simply will not suffice
especially if one knows that collapse takes place at the weakest link.
 The discontinuity apertures in the rocks are the most important factor for
the rock’s hydraulic conductivity. The changes in apertures due to stress
could have marked effect on the hydraulic conductivity so that one
requires in situ tests such as, what is called, Lugeon tests.
3. Choice of dam site
 Because of the very nature of the requirements for tall dams on main
rivers, geological boundaries such as thrust lines or major faults are not
uncommon, since they provide the necessary geomorphologic features.
Major fault lines are known to exist at the Tehri dam site.
 Most important requirement these is that the rocks adjacent to the dam or
on the sides of the river should be stable to sliding when wet. The slopes
of the banks of the river are dominated by Debris or remains of broken
rock because of high levels of fracture, and faulting (of the earthquake
kind) and sedimentation.
 As discussed above hydro geological reasons such as low grade phyllitic
rocks in the abutments and rim slopes with increased soil moisture due to
soaking by the increased height of the reservoir could lead to a sliding of
bedrocks and cause large landslides. These landslides would increase the
sedimentation rate and drastically reduce the dam’s life for power
generation or irrigation. Environmental issues
 The Tehri Dam has been the object of protests by environmental
organizations and local people of the region. In addition to the human
rights concerns, the project has spurred concerns about the environmental
consequences of locating such a large dam in the fragile ecosystem of the
Himalayan foothills. There are further concerns regarding the dam’s
geological stability.
Tehri Dam Advantages
 2400-megawatt electricity.
 Clean Drinking water to almost 40 lakhs of people living in Delhi.
 Clean Drinking water to almost 30 lakhs of people living in and around
Uttar Pradesh.
 Less flooding in low lying areas of Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and
Bihar.
 Employment Generation for the local people.
Tehri Dam Issues
1. The Tehri Dam project has brought concerns about the environmental
problems of locating a large dam in the delicate ecosystem of the
Himalayan foothills.
 2. There are growing concerns regarding the dam’s stability. Tehri dam is
located 7.5kms above the Central Himalayan Seismic Gap, which is a
major geologic fault zone. This region was the site of a 6.8 magnitude
earthquake in October 1991, with an epicentre 5 km from the location of
the dam. Building of the dam will put further pressure on the seismic gap
and thus increases the chances of an earthquake.
3. The Tehri dam is designed to withstand an earthquake of 8.4 magnitude,
but some seismologists say that earthquakes with a magnitude of 8.5 or
more could occur in this region.
4. This could result in a dam-break and the flood waters from the dam could
submerge numerous towns coming in the way. Tehri dam has been in
active protest by environmental organizations and local people of the
region.
5. With a view to provide maximum assurance of safety, the dam has been
designed adopting most stringent design criteria, incorporating certain
features which would ensure its safety, in an unforeseen major seismic
event.
Conclusion:
Tehri Dam Project, a prestigious hydropower cum irrigation project, is the first
major attempt to harness vast hydro potential of Bhagirathi river which is fed by
Gangotri Glacier. The storage project in the Bhagirathi valley in Uttarakhand
Himalaya, envisages impounding of surplus monsoon water of the river for
utilizing it in regulated manner for hydropower generation and irrigation