Barriers & booms | Boom safety innovations


Filip Stefanovic and Michael Sims of Ecocoast explore how dams and powerplants pose hidden dangers to recreational water users, with strong currents turning them into “drowning machines.” To mitigate these risks, innovative safety booms are being deployed, offering advanced protection through enhanced strength, visibility, and integrated safety features


Below: Figure 1: Proposed safety boom layout


DAMS AND POWERPLANTS, EVEN when being constructed and operated within stringent safety frameworks, can still pose significant risks, leading to accidents involving recreational water users such as boaters, kayakers, and swimmers. These individuals may inadvertently venture too close to these structures and get caught in the dangerous currents, often referred to as “drowning machines” due to the creation of powerful and inescapably subsurface currents. To mitigate these risks, we propose a range of solutions, including regulatory measures, removal of obsolete dams, mandatory safety upgrades for new and existing installations, and the implementation of safety features such as warning signage and safety booms. Safety booms, in particular, play a critical role in preventing watercraft from approaching too closely and in providing means for individuals in the water to escape dangerous situations. Since 2000, we have been engineering these safety booms, continually enhancing their design, performance and winter resilience to ensure year-round safety, even in harsh environmental conditions. The most recent iterations feature significant improvements in strength, unsinkability, and essential safety enhancements, including grab handles, casualty lifelines, warning signs, night-time


Wall plate to be installed on top of the spillway for the boom to be in line with 670m


Downstream Boom 3 65m


Wall plates 13t


Downstream Boom 2 22m


visibility features, and integrated sensors, alarms, and cameras. These advanced booms are capable of stopping watercraft weighing up to an impressive 72 tons.


An innovative and highly secure gate system was also recently introduced, designed to facilitate controlled access through the safety booms. This system can be operated remotely from the shore or directly by personnel on a workboat, simply by pressing a button on a remote control. This report delves into the different safety solutions, from regulatory measures to the practical application of safety booms and their customization options. Additionally, it focuses on recent safety boom implementations and their performance in different seasonal conditions, including winter. Showcasing these advanced safety measures


illustrates their significant role in reducing accidents and protecting human life in the vicinity of high-risk dam and powerplant areas.


Threats to human lives Dams come in various sizes, ranging from massive


concrete structures to small barriers as low as half a meter. Even low-head dams can generate strong subsurface currents known as submerged hydraulic jumps, which make them extremely hazardous. These “drowning machines” have been responsible for hundreds of fatalities in the United States in the last 20 years.


Almost 17,000 dams in the United States are


classified as having high-hazard potential, meaning that their failure from any means, could result in loss of life, significant property damage, lifeline disruption, and environmental damage. While data on accidents and fatalities at these


Wall plate to be installed on top of the fi sh pass at 670m near the jump wall


Ground Anchor


Ground Anchor location to be fi nalized based on the actual site condition ensuring that it stays above the High Water Level


Wall plate to be installed above high water level on the wall for the boom to be in line with 670m


Upstream Boom 1 63m


Wall plate 13t


Ground Anchor


Ground Anchor location to be fi nalized based on the actual site condition ensuring that it stays above the High Water Level


structures in the United States is well-documented, a comprehensive overview for European rivers is lacking. There is no centralized system for reporting incidents, which hampers efforts to fully understand the scale of the problem. In 2023, Dam Removal Europe (DRE) initiated the first attempt to gather data from across Europe, aiming to raise awareness of the safety risks posed by these structures to swimmers, kayakers, and other recreational users. Incidents involving “drowning machines” have been documented since the 19th century and continue to occur regularly. The key findings from this initial effort include: A total of 82 incidents resulting in 129 fatalities were recorded across 16 countries, with most incidents occurring since 2000. Several rivers had multiple incidents reported. Incidents involving “drowning machines” are


24 | February 2025 | www.waterpowermagazine.com


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