| Operation & maintenance
impacts if not properly managed and maintained,” observes Cothran.
Plotting the outcomes for dam safety Starting the monitoring programme in December
2020, early results are already encouraging. “In one dam in particular we had an area that stayed fairly wet. We were interested to see if the technology would pick that up and it has. The other dam that we’re monitoring actually had a partial failure of the emergency spillway due to flooding in early February last year. It’s been somewhat of a construction site during the early parts of the pilot and it has picked all that up too,” says Cothran. He adds: “We’re early in the three-year pilot, but so far we’ve been very pleased because it has proven itself on things that we know are already there. What we are looking for now is will it pick up things that we didn’t know about?” Looking ahead, the programme could be extended
to include other high hazard dams. “Assuming a successful pilot we’ll have all of our dams monitored. When you can combine that amount of data over a broad scale with the AI capabilities, that’s a pretty powerful combination for infrastructure owners,” explains Cothran.
Tackling the biggest challenges for
dam owners Like many dam owners, one of SJWD’s biggest challenges is responding to the increasing urbanisation that is seeing more people living in the inundation area of a dam should it fail. There is a
significant increase in the consequences of failure and the potential for catastrophic risk. As Cothran says: “Our dams have the highest potential for large impacts to our customers and downstream neighbours if not properly operated and maintained.” It places far greater emphasis on adopting a more proactive approach to dam safety and assessment of the structural integrity of such structures. “It might look somewhat minimal to the naked eye, but measuring to the millimetre brings a new aspect. It is like having a different lens we can use to examine our dams,” Cothran notes. “From our perspective the dams have the largest potential impact on our customers and neighbours so rightfully they need to have a lot of attention. If we can show the public that we are aware of the potential impact of our dams and we’re keeping our public safe, that’s always a plus.” As well as making hydraulic structures safer for those communities and businesses that could face inundation in the event of a catastrophic failure, better data-led decision-making can improve the bottom line as well. “It is hard to put a number on cost savings because it really relates to the decision-making such as the timing of capital improvements. We don’t want to spend millions of dollars before we have to but you definitely don’t want to wait too long. The more information we have the better it helps us prepare and plan for when we actually do need to spend that money for any necessary repairs and improvements.” As Cothran concludes: “The data provided by
Rezatec will allow us to cost-effectively monitor our dams”. ●
Above: Lyman Lake dam under construction
Below: SJWD’s Berrys Pond Dam
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