THE TETON DAM FAILURE

INTRODUCTION

• June 5th 1972: Teton Dam Collapses.

• Teton Dam is located on the Snake River Plain in

southeast Idaho

• Total damage cost reached as high $2 billion.

• 11 people died, 200 left homeless and 13000 cattle

were destroyed.
 SITE HISTORY
• United States Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) studied 16
different sites between 1932 and 1961.
• Settled on Teton canyon and began inspecting site in 1957.
• Over 100 borings were taken on site and a report on the
geological and seepage conditions deemed the site suitable for
dam construction.
• USBR awarded Morrison-Knudson the contract to begin
construction.
• The main aim of the dam was to provide irrigation to
surrounding farmlands and HEP.
 FOUNDATIONS
• Section 1: 21m deep trenches with steep sides on the
abutments of the 1550m elevation.
• Section 2: A cutoff trench to the underlying rock
below the 1550m elevation.
• Section 3: A grout curtain that ran along the
foundations itself.
• Section 4: The extraction of the rock located beneath
the abutments.
 DAM COMPOSITION
• 10 million m³ of material needed to construct Dam.
• There were 5 main sections to the Dam:
• Section 1: Core: Moisture content 1.5% dry
of optimum permeability 0.3
metres/year.
• Section 2: Compacted Sandy Gravel:
Overlies Section 1.
• Section 3: Miscellaneous Fill: Similar
composition to that of Section 1.
• Section 4 and 5: Rock Fill: Compacted on outer
surface of dam.
 FAILURE
• June 3rd 1976: Small leaks discovered in northern
section of the abutment.
• June 4th 1976: Areas of dampness and small springs
appeared in the right section of the abutment.
• June 5th 1976: Major leak with flow rate of 500-800
litres/second. Seepage occurs 40m below dam crest.
• June 5th 1976: A few hours later a whirlpool forms in
the reservoir. Shortly after, the Teton Dam Collapses.
TETON DAM TAKING A LEAK
HOLEy CRAP
God DAM that’s a lot of water
 FLOODING
• Over 300 million m³ of water passes through broken
Dam.

Rexburg, Idaho
 CAUSES
• Piping failure proved to be main reason for
Dam failure.
• Piping Failure = “The development of tubular
leak-causing cavities”
• Poor geological surveying.
• Poor construction: Grout Curtain failed thus
allowing underlying materials be swept easily
downstream
 CONSEQUENCES
• 11 people dead
• 200 people homeless
• 13,000 cattle destroyed
• Surrounding farmland and towns ruined
through flooding
• Up to $2 billion in total costs through damages
and compensation
REMAINS OF
TETON DAM