dam safety guidelines

Part 1: Assessment of dam hazard category

Introduction 2.0 Why apply a hazard category?

Part 1 is a guide for assessing the hazard category of
dams in the Auckland Region. It applies to both
existing and proposed structures. The rating system
described is based on the New Zealand Society of
Large Dams (NZSOLD) Dam Safety Guidelines 1995.
Some additional categories have been added to the
NZSOLD Hazard Category system to take into
account the environmental, cultural and historical
issues associated with dam hazards. This system
does not replace the NZSOLD categories, - they are
additions only.
A hazard category needs to be applied to dams in
order to ensure that appropriate levels of
investigation, design, construction control,
maintenance and operation are undertaken by the
owner and his or her representatives.
Higher hazard dams need a higher level of
investigation, design input and optimisation,
construction testing monitoring, and ongoing
performance monitoring. The application of an
appropriate hazard category helps councils ensure
enough effort is put into these components of dam
building and operation.

1.0 Definitions A dam’s hazard category determines the frequency

and magnitude of ongoing internal and external
Two terms are usually associated with structures or performance reviews. It may also affect bonds and
natural phenomena that have the ability to cause legal responsibilities.
damage or threaten life. These are ‘hazard’ and ‘risk’.
The ‘hazard potential’ of a structure can be defined as
the potential for that structure to cause damage in
3.0 Hazard vs risk
the event of failure. For a dam this mainly refers to Hazard and risk are interrelated in dam engineering,
the potential damage from uncontrolled release of as with most contexts. A higher hazard structure
water. dictates a greater level of design input in order to
The ‘risk’ associated with a structure is the extent to reduce the level of risk to the community, as shown
which the hazard can be realised. This is often in Figure 1.1.
thought of as the ‘probability’ of an event occurring. The hazard potential of a dam can change with the
The extent to which society will accept risk is often passage of time, usually in response to land use
termed the tolerable level of risk. This level is changes downstream or upstream. Dams and
determined by good practice and society’s
acceptance of risk.
Another term often used in association with hazard
and risk is ‘vulnerability’. This describes the ability or
inability of the area or people that would be affected
by the hazard to withstand the event. In the case of
dams this describes the ability of a community or
region downstream of the dam to withstand a dam
break flood. Included in this is the ‘state of readiness’
of the community, or its ability to prepare for
response.
The ‘hazard category’ of a dam (or similar structure) as
defined in this guideline is based mainly on its
‘hazard potential’.

Figure 1.1: Hazard vs Risk


dam safety guidelines
Guidelines for construction, maintenance and monitoring
procedures may need to be modified in order to
maintain a tolerable level of risk in relation to hazard
potential.
Training and Civil Defence strategies can reduce the
vulnerability of a community, but these are not always
seen as effective. Such approaches may not always
provide a permanent solution, so effective
engineering solutions such as strengthening are
often preferred.
4.0 The hazard categories
Many factors influence a dam’s hazard potential.
Most reflect the physical attributes of the structure
and its storage volume, but others are less tangible.
The main factors of interest are:
❍ dam height
❍ water depth
❍ stored volume
❍ downstream valley profile
❍ physical location
❍ downstream conditions and values
❍ nature of stored material.
1 Dam height
The higher the dam, the more potential
energy contained in the stored liquid, the
faster it will escape and the more damage it
will do.
Figure 1.2: Dam Height and Storage
Part 1: Assessing dam hazard category 2
2 Water depth
This has similar implications to dam height
and in most cases the two are
interdependent. In this document they are
considered separately for two reasons:
a to maintain consistency with the
Building Act 1991
a occasionally dam height and stored
depth are significantly different.
3 Stored volume
The volume stored behind a dam
determines the duration of a dam break
flood and the extent of associated damage.
Stored volume and dam height together
make the largest physical contribution to a
dam’s hazard category. This concept is
schematically shown in Figure 1.2.
This guideline uses the classes of storage
volume set out in the NZSOLD Guideline,
except for the 20,00Om3 lowest cut-off
limit. This is defined in the Building Act
1991, above which the dam requires a
Building Consent.
4 Downstream valley profile
The shape and gradient of the valley below
the dam influences the rate at which flood
water dissipates. Narrow and/or steep
valley systems tend to sustain high flow
energies, conserving the damage potential
of the flow for longer and confining the
extent of flooding. Wide and/or flat valley
systems have the opposite effect.
5 Physical location
Every locality has characteristics that
separately or together are unique.
Hydrological, geological and topographical
controls influence both risk and hazard
category.
6 Downstream conditions and values
The presence of communities, amenities or
industries downstream must be
considered, as well as the sensitivity and
value of ecological communities and
cultural and historical sites.

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7 Nature of stored material
Not all dams store water. Dams are also
used to store many other substances such
as mine waste, effluent, toxic materials.
Many of these will represent a greater
hazard than water alone and may have
unique storage requirements.
To avoid a very cumbersome system with many
levels of hazard, the NZSOLD guideline utilise three
levels of hazard category:- high, significant and low.
This guideline uses the same categories, with the
low category subdivided into minimal and low:
❍ high
❍ significant
❍ low
❍ minimal
The ‘minimal’ category comprises dams which do not
require a building consent under the Building Act
1991. This is equivalent to the previous ARC criteria
for dams considered to be a ‘Permitted Activity’.
A third classification that may influence the definition
of a minimal hazard dam isgiven in the Ministry of
Commerce discussion paper (May 1996). In this
document values of 5.0m for dam height and 20,000
m3 to 50,000 m3 are used as the division between
dams not requiring and those requiring control
through permits or consents. The Auckland Regional
Council has adopted the more rigorous standard
outlined in the NZSOLD guideline.
Minimal impact dams are permitted activities
provided their design, construction, operation,
maintenance and monitoring complies with Part 2 of
this guideline.
All other hazard category dams require resource
consents.
Part 1: Assessing dam hazard category 3
5.0 Determining hazard category
To simplify the determination of hazard categories for
dams, the folllowing flow chart has been developed
which defines the main criteria. Explanatory notes for
each criterion are also appended to the chart. The
first half of the flow chart is defined by the NZSOLD
Hazard Category, and is therefore based on
parameters that produce the hazard potential of the
structure. The second section includes parameters
that will often incorporate a component of risk in
addition to hazard. This is required to provide the
necessary inputs into the Auckland Regional Council’s
more detailed hazard category.
The less tangible categories shown, particularly
geological, hydrological, historical, ecological or
archeological issues, may not necessarily result in a
higher hazard category. Lack of information may
mean that a higher rating needs to be selected
initially, though additional investigations reduce this.
Figure 1.3 is a worked example of selecting a hazard
category. In this example, possible geological
concerns are raised, so a higher hazard category is
selected. Additional investigations and design input
may alleviate these concerns for both existing and
proposed dams.
6.0 Summary
The system described in this guideline details the
methodology of and reasons for applying a hazard
category to existing and proposed dams. The system
has been developed within the framework of the
NZSOLD Dam Safety Guidelines 1995 and the
Building Act 1991.
The simple flow chart attached helps determine an
appropriate hazard category for a dam or dams. It will
also identify areas of concern for further
investigation.
The implications of each hazard category for the dam
owner, his or her representatives and regulatory
authorities is discussed in Part 2.
Dam hazard: Identification of category
The following comments provide explanatory notes for the flow chart overleaf.
Dam heightis the vertical difference between the dam crest level and the lowest point on the
downstream toe. The divisions adopted are from the NZSOLD Dam Safety Guidelines 1995.
Water depth is taken as the maximum depth of water (or liquid), including transient rises due to
floods or operational changes, behind the dam. The cut-off figure of 3.0m for depth of water is
specified in the Building Act 1991.
Stored volume is the total volume of water that can be either permanently or temporarily stored.
Normally this equates to the volume contained within the storage when at maximum flood
level. The cut-off of 20,000 m3 for stored volume is specified in the Building Act 1991.
Downstream damage covers both environmental damage and potential damage to property. The
cut-off figures adopted are from the NZSOLD Dam Safety Guidelines. Important issues to
consider are:
Environmental considerations:
1 erosion and/or siltation of stream, stream banks and flood plains
2 loss of fisheries, biota and stream vegetation
3 long term effects from changed stream flow regime.
Potential property damage:
1 damage to land and property
2 services/infrastructure (eg roads, water supply etc)
3 other reservoirs or dams that are in the path of possible dam failure flood waters
4 potential loss of income resulting from 1, 2 and 3 above.
Possible loss of life is predominantly concerned with dam failure resulting in a ‘Dam Break Flood’.
Important issues to consider include:
1 Downstream occupants:
are there dwellings of buildings whose habitats could be put at risk?
2 Services/infrastructure:
are there any roads/transport systems, and/or power, gas or phone system that could
be disrupted in the advent of a dam failure? Loss of such system could directly or
indirectly pose a risk to life.
3 Downstream topographic controls:
valley shape and gradient downstream have a strong influence of the potential hazard
posed by a dam break flood. Steep and/or narrow valleys maintain high flood energy
and damage potential. Flat and/or wide valley dissipate flood energy.
Other issues may also exist such as slope failures around the reservoir perimeter that could cause
flood waves over the dam or could produce uncontrolled damming of the reservoir. The rapid draw
down caused by a dam failure and subsequent reservoir loss can result in land instability around the
reservoir perimeter. Landslides can cause damming of the stream or river with the resulting
‘Landslide Dam’ almost certainly destined to fail.
Catchment area is the main parameter in determining the potential flood sizes that the structure will
need to withstand. The cut-off figure of 20 hectares is consistent with current Auckland
Regional rules.
Catchment location, orientation, elevation and topography will also influence flood magnitudes.
For this reason the use of catchment area as a parameter for determining a hazard category is
only specified for the smallest dams. Larger structures will require specific hydrological
design.
Geological and hydrological issues may exist at or near the site of the dam that could
subsequently increase the hazard the dam represents.
Geological issues that may be of concern include:
1 potential seismic activity
2 potential volcanic activity
3 known slope instability in the area or visible at the site
4 known foundation problems (eg soft, peat etc).
Hydrological issues that may be of concern include:
1 known flooding problem particularly upstream
2 high level of existing stream use
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3 existing water storages upstream or downstream that could affect or be affected
4 potential groundwater effects.
Stored material behind the proposed structure will in some cases influence the level of hazard. A
higher level of design input is warranted for structures holding hazardous or toxic substances.
The increase in hazard category that may result for a structure holding hazardous or toxic
material is also related to the increased potential for downstream damage and loss of life.
Historical and/or archeological values may exist at the site or in the area of potential influence in
the event of dam failure. Issues that may affect such sites include:-
1 inundation by the reservoir
2 flooding in the advent of dam failure
3 loss, or in some cases increased public access
In many situations these issues may be linked with concerns addressed in the ‘Environmental
Damage’ section above.
Categories
Two categories will be produced given the attached category flow chart.
The first is defined in the NZSOLD Dam Safety Guidelines (1991) and is the basis for the hazard
category for all dams in New Zealand. The second stems from the first and includes additional
categories particularly concerning environmental, cultural and historical issues and has been defined
specifically for the Auckland region. The LOW category defined in the NZSOLD system has been
sub-divided into MINIMAL and LOW. A category of MINIMAL implies that the structure can be
considered to be a Permitted Activity. Consent applications will be needed for all other categories.
Care should be given when assessing ratings for each category to avoid undue conservatism. In
many instances potential effects posed by a dam will fall into more than one category. A
conservative rating in each category affected by a particular issue may not be justified. For instance
a dam storing farm cowshed effluent may influence the rating choice in both ‘Downstream Damage’
and Stored Material’. It may be appropriate just to deal with it under ‘Stored Material’ if the overall
downstream damage would not be significantly different than if the dam were just storing water.
Part 1: Assessing dam hazard category
4
Figure 1.3: Example of Evaluating a Hazard Category
Figure 1.4: Evaluating a Hazard Category