METHODS ADOPTED

FOR CONTROL
SEEPAGE THROUGH
THE DAM BODY
GROUP 05
 INTRODUCTION

All dams have some seepage.

Since water seeks the path which has the
least resistance to the dam.
Seepage is concerned seems it is carrying
material with it
Seepage control is important to prevent
erosion of the embankment, foundation etc.
CROSS SECTION OF AN EARTH DAM
CAUSE OF FAILURE IN EARTHEN
DAM
The main cause of dam can be classified as under ;
Hydraulic failure
Seepage failure
Structural failure
Earthquake failure
In this presentation we are going to describe about the
seepage failure and methods to control it.
SEEPAGE
What is seepage?
Simply the word seepage can be described as a
leakage, oozing or percolation

What is seepage in a Dam?

Seepage in a dam is the continuous movement of water

from the upstream face of the dam toward its
downstream face
 HOW TO IDENTIFY SEEPAGE
ERT ( Electrical Resistivity Tomography)
Leakages
Deformations in Dam body
Water falling below the level
Wet spots and aquatic vegetation(eg: cattails)
 EFFECTS OF SEEPAGE

It will affect on the Stability of the dam

Internal erosion can be happened
Excessive internal pressures and saturation
Piping through dam body.
Solutioning of soluble rock.
Excessive uplift of dam body.
 CAUSES OF SEEPAGE
Poor compaction of soil
Shrinkage cracking in environmental soil
Uprooted trees
Insufficient structural drainage
Trapped ground water
EMBANKMENT FAILURE DUE TO
SEEPAGE FLOW
SEEPAGE
CONTROL
 The need for seepage control will depend on
Quality
Content
Location of the seepage
Reducing the quantity of seepage that offers after
construction is difficult and expensive
To control the seepage water through a dam body
following methods can be used,
Toe drain or rock toe

Horizontal drainage Blanket

Chimney drain
 Those drainage methods reduces the pore pressure
in the downstream portion of the dam and increases
the stability of the dam.
It also checks piping by migration of particles.
These drains consists of graded coarse material in
which the seepage is collected and moved to a point
where it can be safely discharged.
TOE DRAIN OR ROCK TOE

The rock toe drag the seepage line down so that it does not go
across the dam, There by it increases the stability of the dam.
 WHAT IS SEEPAGE
LINE(PHRATHIC LINE) ?
This is also called the saturation line or hydraulic

gradient line.

It is defined as the line within a dam section below

which there are positive hydrostatic pressure in the

dam
On the line it self the hydrostatic pressure is

equal to atmospheric pressure or zero

Above the saturation line there will be a zone of

saturation in which the hydrostatic pressure is

negative
At the downstream end of the dam a rock toe is provided
by arranging 15 to 20 cm size stones. The height of rock is
usually kept 30 to 40% of the reservoir head.
The top of the rock toe must be sufficiently higher than
the tail water depth, so as to prevent wave action of the
tail water.
Rock toe keeps the phreatic line well within the
section and also facilitate drainage
Toe filter generally consists of three layers of fine
sand, course sand and gravel.
It also prevent failure of downstream of the dam
due to piping or sloughing.
 Design of the downstream drainage system is controlled
by ,
Height of the dam
Cost and availability of permeable material

Permeability of the foundation

For law height dams, a simple toe drain can be used

successfully.
Major reason to have a toe drain is to prevent softening
and erosion of the downstream toe.
For reservoir having high depths (greater than
15m) , can place a drainage system further
inside the embankment and it will be more
effective in reducing pore pressures and
controlling seepage.
 HORIZONTAL DRIANAGE
BLANKET
Horizontal drainage blankets extends from the
toe(downstream end) of the dam, inward , up to a distance
varying from 25% - 100% of the distance from center line of
the dam.

Length equal to three times the height of the dam is sufficient.

Horizontal drainage blankets are often used for
dams of moderate height.
Drainage blankets are used over the downstream
about one half or one third of the foundation
area.
Horizontal drainage blanket
Advantages
Often used for dams of moderate height.
Frequently used over the downstream one half or one-
third of the foundation area.

Disadvantages
An earth dam embankment tends to be more pervious in
the horizontal direction than the vertical.
 CHIMNEY DRAINS
Prevent horizontal flow along relatively impervious stratified
layers
Intercept seepage water before it reaches the downstream
slope.
Useful in reducing pore water pressures.

Chimney drains are often incorporated in high homogeneous

dams which have been constructed with inclined or vertical
chimney drains.
Diagram showing chimney drain
 CONCLUSION
Uncontrolled or concentrated seepage through
dam body may lead to failure of the dam.
To avoid such cases there are methods to control
and protect the dam from failure as we discussed
in this presentation.
Taking measures to control seepage during the
construction is advantageous than controlling
seepage after the construction.
J.G Kolo, O. O., 2017. A review on effects and control of seepage through earth fill dam. Current journel of applied sicence and Technology, Issue 22nd july 2017, p. 11.

REFERENCES

www.cawater-info.net
www.sciencedirect.com/article/pii
https://en.m.Wikipedia.org/seepage
www.slideshare.net
J.G Kolo, O. O., 2017. A review on effects and
control of seepage through earth fill dam.
Current journal of applied science and
Technology, Issue 22nd July 2017, p. 11.
THAN
K
YOU