Types of Dams

and their Yield and Capacity

BASED ON PURPOSE:

1. STORAGE DAM OR IMPOUNDING DAM
It is constructed to create a reservoir to store water during periods when there is
huge flow in the river (in excess of demand) for utilization later during periods of
low flow (demand exceeds flow in the river). Water stored in the reservoir is
used for irrigation, power generation, water supply etc. By suitable operation, it
can also serve as a detention dam.

2. DETENTION DAM
It is primarily constructed to temporarily detain all or part of the flood water in a
river and to gradually release the stored water later at controlled rates so that
the entire region on the downstream side of the dam is protected from possible
damage due to floods. It may also be used as a storage dam.


3. DIVERSION DAM
It is constructed to divert part of or all the water from a river into a conduit or a
channel. For diverting water from a river into an irrigation canal, mostly a
diversion weir is constructed across the river.



4. COFFER DAM
It is a temporary dam constructed to exclude water from a specific area. It is
constructed on the u/s side of the site where a dam is to be constructed so that
the site is dry. In this case, it behaves like a diversion dam.
Storage Dam on Scioto
River, Columbus, Ohio

Los Banos Creek Detention
Dam
The Faraday Diversion
Dam, Clackamas River





5. DEBRIS DAM
It is constructed to catch and retain debris flowing in a river.







BASED ON HYDRAULIC DESIGN:

1. OVERFLOW DAM OR OVERFALL DAM
It is constructed with a crest to permit overflow of surplus water that cannot be retained in the reservoir.
Generally dams are not designed as overflow dams for its entire length. Diversion weirs of small height may
be designed to permit overflow over its entire length.

2. NON-OVERFLOW DAM
It is constructed such that water is not allowed to overflow over its crest. In most cases, dams are so designed
that part of its length is designed as an overflow dam (this part is called the spillway) while the rest of its
length is designed as a non-overflow dam. In some cases, these two sections are not combined.


BASED ON MATERIAL OF CONSTRUCTION:

1. RIGID DAM
A cofferdam on the Ohio
River near Olmsted, Illinois
Natural woody debris
dam in Pickering Beck just
above Levisham

It is constructed with rigid material such as stone, masonry, concrete, steel, or timber. Steel dams (steel
plates supported on inclined struts) and timber dams (wooden planks supported on a wooden framework) are
constructed only for small heights (rarely).

2. NON-RIGID DAM (EMBANKMENT DAMS)
It is constructed with non-rigid material such as earth, tailings, rock fill etc.
Earthen dam gravel, sand, silt, clay etc
Tailings dam waste or refuse obtained from mines
Rock fill dam rock material supporting a water tight material on the u/s face
Rock fill composite dam Rock fill on the d/s side and earth fill on the u/s side

BASED ON STRUCTURAL BEHAVIOUR:

1. GRAVITY DAM
It is a masonry or concrete dam which resists the forces acting on it by its own
weight. Its c/s is approximately triangular in shape. Most gravity dams are
straight solid gravity dams.
Straight gravity dam A gravity dam that is straight in plan
Curved gravity plan A gravity dam that is curved in plan
Curved gravity dam (Arch gravity dam) It resists the forces acting on it by
combined gravity action (its own weight) and arch action.
Solid gravity dam Its body consists of a solid mass of masonry or concrete
Hollow gravity dam It has hollow spaces within its body.

2. ARCH DAM
It is a curved masonry or concrete dam, convex upstream, which resists the
forces acting on it by arch action.

Arch Dams
Arch shape gives strength
Less material (cheaper)
Bhakra Dam is the highest
Concrete Gravity dam in Asia
and the second highest in the
world. It is across river Sutlej
in Himachal Pradesh.

The Idukki Dam, (Kerala,
India) is currently the 14th
largest arch dam in Asia, at
555 feet in height. The dam
stands between the two
mountains Kuravanmala

Narrow sites
Need strong abutments
These type of dams are concrete or masonry dams which are curved or
convex upstream in plan
This shape helps to transmit the major part of the water load to the
abutments
Arch dams are built across narrow, deep river gorges, but now in recent
years they have been considered even for little wider valleys.
Good for narrow, rocky locations.
They are curved and the natural shape of the arch holds back the water in
the reservoir.
3. BUTTRESS DAM
It consists of water retaining sloping membrane or deck on the u/s which is
supported by a series of buttresses. These buttresses are in the form of equally
spaced triangular masonry or reinforced concrete walls or counter forts. The
sloping membrane is usually a reinforced concrete slab. In some cases, the u/s
slab is replaced by multiple arches supported on buttresses (multiple arch
buttress dam) or by flaring the u/s edge of the buttresses to span the distance
between the buttresses (bulkhead buttress dam or massive head buttress dam).
In general, the structural behavior of a buttress dam is similar to that of a gravity
dam.

Buttress Dams
Face is held up by a series of supports
Flat or curved face
Buttress Dam Is a gravity dam reinforced by structural supports
Buttress a support that transmits a force from a roof or wall to another
supporting structure
This type of structure can be considered even if the foundation rocks are
little weaker.

4. EMBANKMENT DAM
Buttress Dam
Bartlett Dam
Verde River, Arizona
The Magballo Balicotoc
Canlamay Dam is known to
be the first and only buttress
dam in Negros Occidental.

It is a non-rigid dam which resists the forces acting on it by its shear strength
and to some extent
also by its own
weight (gravity). Its
structural behavior is
in many ways
different from that of
a gravity dam.

Earth or rock dam
They are trapezoidal in shape.
Earth dams are constructed where the foundation or the underlying
material or rocks are weak to support the masonry dam or where the
suitable competent rocks are at greater depth.
Earthen dams are relatively smaller in height and broad at the base.
They are mainly built with clay, sand and gravel, hence they are also
known as Earth fill dam or Rock fill dam.
Weight resists flow of water
BASED ON SIZE (HYDRAULIC HEAD AND GROSS STORAGE IN THE RESERVOIR BEHIND THE
DAM):












S Sl l. . N No o. . C Cl la as ss si if fi ic ca at ti io on n
G Gr ro os ss s S St to or ra ag ge e
( (M MC CM M) )
H Hy yd dr ra au ul li ic c H He ea ad d ( (m m) )
1 1 S Sm ma al ll l 0 0. .5 50 0 1 10 0. .0 00 0 7 7. .5 5 1 12 2. .0 0
2 2 I In nt te er rm me ed di ia at te e 1 10 0. .0 00 0 6 60 0. .0 00 0 1 12 2. .0 0 3 30 0. .0 0
3 3 L La ar rg ge e > > 6 60 0. .0 00 0 > > 3 30 0
Caliraya Dam is an
embankment dam located in
the town of Lumban province
of Laguna, in the Sierra
Madre Mountain Range of
the Philippines.
























Operation and Maintenance of Dams

A typical dam is a wall of solid material built across a river to block the flow of the river thus storing water in
the lake that will form upstream of the dam as water continues to flow from the river upstream of the dam.

The main purpose of most dams is to create a permanent reservoir of water for use at a later time. The dam
must be watertight (i.e. impermeable or impervious to water) so that water does not leak out of the dam and
escape downstream. An essential part of a dam is therefore the "impermeable membrane", i.e. the watertight
part of the dam that prevents water leaking out. As we shall see later, it is not necessary that the entire dam

wall be watertight. The natural earth or rock on which the dam is built (i.e. the dam foundation) must also be
watertight as must the river valley in which the storage reservoir forms. If these natural areas (dam
foundation and storage area) are not watertight then water could leak out of the reservoir even if the dam
itself is watertight.

As well as being watertight a dam must also be stable i.e. the dam wall must have sufficient strength to
firstly, stand permanently under its own weight especially when at least part of the dam wall is saturated with
water and secondly, resist the water pressure in the lake upstream of the dam. This water pressure exerts a
force on the dam wall tending to push it downstream. The higher the dam, the greater the depth of water
stored behind the dam and the greater the water pressure on the dam wall. The dam must also have
sufficient strength to resist other forces to which it may be subjected from time to time e.g. shaking from
earthquakes. The threat that earthquakes pose to dams varies widely depending on the region of the world in
which the dam is located.

A dam must have some way of releasing water in controlled amounts as it is needed i.e. an outlet valve of
some type. Depending on the purpose of the dam the water may be released into a pipeline to supply a city
with water, or into a hydro-electric power station to generate electricity or the water may simply be released
into the river bed downstream of the dam and allowed to flow naturally down the river, eventually to be
pumped out and used for irrigation of crops further downstream. The outlet valve must be connected via a
pipe or tunnel to some type of intake structure where the water is actually drawn from the storage reservoir.

When the river on which the dam has been built floods a very large volume of flood water will flow into the
storage reservoir. Usually this is very, very much more water than can be released through the outlet valve. A
dam must have some means whereby these large volumes of flood water can flow around the dam without
causing damage to the dam itself; i.e. a spillway which, in most cases, is an open cut channel large enough to
carry the flood water around the dam. If the dam is built of concrete the spillway may form part of the dam
wall itself. However, if the dam is built of earth and/or rock fill (i.e. soil and broken rock) the spillway must be a
separate structure because flood waters cannot be allowed to flow over the top of a fill (or embankment) dam
which would be quickly washed away by the flood water if this was to happen.

A large dam project may involve many types of construction apart from building the dam wall itself e.g.
tunneling for diversion or outlet works; road building to replace roads flooded by the reservoir; quarrying to

obtain rock fill and other construction materials; excavation of open cuts for the spillway, access roads and
road deviations.

Failure of dam may result in loss of life or property in the downstream area.

The design of dams should be reviewed to assure competency of the structure and its site, and inspection
should be made during construction to ensure that the requirements of the design and specification are
incorporated in the structure.

After completion and filling, inspections should be regularly scheduled. The objective is to detect
symptoms of possible distress in the dam at earliest time.

These symptoms include slough or slides in embankments; piping or boils; abnormal changes in flow;
increase in seepage quantities; changes in pore water or uplift pressures; movement or cracking
of embankments/abutments; cracking of concrete structures; appearance of sinkholes near foundations;
excessive deflection, displacement erosion, vibration of concrete structures; movement, deflection or
vibration of spillway gates; or any other unusual condition in the structure or surrounding terrain.

Detection should be followed by an investigation of the causes, probable effects, and remedial measures
required.

Systematic monitoring of the instrumentation installed in dams is essential to the inspection program.