Detecting Dam Failures

Abstract

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission guidelines say that unattended hydroelectric dams must be monitored against failure around the clock. Design and installation of failure monitoring systems at 21 hydroelectric dams located in remote, high altitude, rugged terrain in the Sierra Nevada Range presented a number of challenges to owner/operator the Southern California Edison Co., Rosemead, Calif. The $1 million project will provide early warning of potential or imminent failure to downstream inhabitants, who might have to be evacuated.