A dam’s design for safety

By October 16, 2009Punch Forum

Ronaldo Castanaga
15 Oct 2009

Dam design and construction when completed, is certified by an authority usually a licensed professional engineer with years of practice as a dam design engineer. The dam certificate states that the dam is safe for the intended use such as to impound water from rain, river and other tributaries. It has its own peak or safe level of water.

On massive heavy rains, as water continues to rise, the water will just spill to an open channel or outlet and the water will just dissipate to a wide low lying areas without endangering lives and property.

The San Roque Dam has been certified to operate to handle a 100-year frequency storm at near the intensity of Ondoy. It cannot be higher, or else the project becomes horrendously expensive to build. This is the concept of dam design for safety.

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