VII.

GEOLOGY OF RESERVOIRS AND DAM SITE

Objectives:

 Engineering geology is the application of the geological science to engineering

projects for the purpose of assuring that the geological factors regarding the

location, design, construction, operation and maintenance of engineering works are

sound for their sustenance.

 These structures include dams as a major construction project. This lesson

highlights the various aspects related to dams, locations of dams, alignment of dams,

influence of rock type etc.

Introduction:

 “The dams are barrier constructed across rivers to store water”. It will retain water

at the upstream side of the structure.

 They are mainly built to control floods, for irrigating lands, for supplying water to

industries and cities, generation of electricity etc.

 “The mass of water stored at upstream side of the dam is called as reservoir”

 Heel of dam: is the contact with the ground on the upstream side.

 Toe of dam: is the contact on the ground on the downstream side.

 Abutments: are the sides of the valley on which the structure of the dam rests.

 Galleries: are small rooms like structure lift within the dam for checking operations.

 Spillway: it is a structure made to discharge the surplus water from storage

reservoirs into the river on the downstream side of the dam.
 Free board: The space between the highest level of water in the reservoir and the

top of the dam.

 Parapet Wall: low protective walls on the either side of the roadway on the crest.

 Crest: The top of the dam. In some cases this provides a roadway or walkway.

 Dead storage level(DSL): level of permanent storage below which water will not be

withdrawn.

 Sluice way: These are the opening within the dam structures near base of the dam.

Sluice way structures are used to analyze and clear the slit accumulation in the

reservoir of the dam.

STANDARD GUIDELINES FOR MAJOR DAM AND RESERVOIR

INVESTIAGTIONS:

1. Meteorological and hydrological studies

2. Topographical/ GIS/ GPS studies

3. Geological studies- surface and subsurface (geophysical, seismicity, test drilling,

core drilling, etc.)

4. Pre- irrigation soil survey and drainage soil survey

5. Construction material investigations

6. Communication investigation

7. Environmental impact assessment- pre and post- project completion.

SELECTION OF SUITABLE DAM SITE

1. Majority of the portion of dam construction site should be on the high ground.

2. Location of dam construction site should be narrow valley.

3. More emphasis should be given on the quality of foundation rock.

4. Availability of construction material nearby.

5. Dam site should be connected with the nearby towns and cities via road.

6. Dam site should have suitable topography that can naturally hold large amount of

reservoir water in the upstream side of the dam.

7. Dam site rock should have low porosity and permeability .

 8. There should be enough space near the dam site to construct staff house, officers,

guest houses, small hospitals, schools, etc.

INFLUENCE OF GEOLOGICAL CONDITIONS ON:

LOCATION

1. Dams on shales: shales are two types: cementation shale and Compaction shales.

2. Dams on soluble rocks

3. Dams in jointed and permeable rocks.

4. Dams on faults

 Influence of Geological conditions on:

Alignment

1. Abutment problems: The rocks that exist in the abutments of an dam should be

enough to resist pressure without being crushed.

2. Dams on strata dipping Upstream: They are most capable of supporting the

weight of the dams and the pressure of the reservoir because the resultant of

these two forces acts nearly at right angles to the bedding planes of rocks.
 INFLUENCE OF ROCK TYPES

The rocks present in the foundation and abutments of dam, must be sound

enough to withstand the expected static and dynamic pressures. For that the type

of rock present at the dam site plays most important role along with structures of

the rocks.

Igneous Rock: The massive igneous rocks like Granites, diorites, gabbros,

dolerites are excellent category because they posses high compressive strength,

shear strength and module elasticity required for very high dams.

But he extrusive igneous rocks like basalt are not desirable because they are

often vesicular.

 Sedimentary Rock:

The strength of the sediments such as sandstone, conglomerates, and breccia will

depend on the degree of the cementation and nature of cement.

If the degree of cementation goes increasing with time, the strength of sediments

increases.

For example:

The well cemented Cuddapah, sandstones and quartzite have high strength while

the much younger Himalaya sediments of Paleozoic and Mesozoic age are softer

and weaker.

 Metamorphic rocks:
This group of rocks shows greatest variations in terms of suitability for dam sites.

Some varieties are hard, compact, thoroughly crystalline, well knit and massive and ideal

rocks for dam foundations such as gneisses, quartzites and marbles.

However, some other varieties like schists, slates and phylites may pose considerable

troubles and require very detail investigation with regards to their foliation, mica content,

factorization and cleavage and so on.

 Selection of suitable site for reservoir site

1. Rocks of reservoir site should hard and impervious in nature like basalt, granite,

quartzite etc.

2. Reservoir should not be located in the areas composed of rocks having high porosity

and permeability like, limestone, shale, sandstone, slate etc.

3. The high density of fracture and joints within the reservoir rocks can seriously damage

the dam structure by escalating the water seepage from reservoir.

4. To minimize the length and construction cost of the dam, narrow opening of the basin is

essential.

5. Site should be easily accessible.

6. The general topography of the area should be capable of naturally holding large

quantity of water, without submerging excessive land and nearby towns.

7. The source of water in the reservoir should not be near from the tributaries that carry

high sediment and shit load.

8. Reservoir area should not contain mines or rocks with high salt content.

9. Availability of all types of construction materials near the site and near by town or city.

Conclusion
 In ancient times, dams were built for the single purpose of water supply or

irrigation. As civilization developed, there was a great need for water supply,

irrigation, flood control, navigation, water quality, sediment control and energy.

Therefore, dams are constructed for a specific purpose such as water supply, flood

control, irrigation, navigation, sedimentation control, and hydropower.

 The demand of water is steadily increasing throughout the world. There is no life on

the earth without water, our most important resource apart from air and land.

 For almost 5000 years dams have served to ensure an adequate supply of water by

storing water in times of surplus and releasing it in times of scarcity, thus also

preventing or mitigating floods.

 Most of the dams are single purpose dams, but there is now a growing number of

multipurpose dams.

 If the dams are not properly constructed, there will be severe disaster in the

downstream regions of dams. This unit highlighted the different general aspects of

dams, their causes of failure and geological structures affecting dam site, suitable

dam site to construct etc.