science

Dam failure

Dam failure is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Dam failure rather than just read about it. In short: A dam failure or dam burst is a catastrophic type of structural failure characterized by the sudden, rapid, and uncontrolled release of impounded water or the likelihood of such an uncontrolled release. Between the years 2000 and 2009 more than 200 notable dam failures happened worldwide.

Key takeaways

Dam failure belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Dam failure to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Dam failure from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

A dam failure or dam burst is a catastrophic type of structural failure characterized by the sudden, rapid, and uncontrolled release of impounded water or the likelihood of such an uncontrolled release. Between the years 2000 and 2009 more than 200 notable dam failures happened worldwide. A dam is a barrier across flowing water that obstructs, that directs or slows down the flow, often creating a reservoir, lake or impoundments. Most dams have a section called a spillway or weir over or through which water flows, either intermittently or continuously, and some have hydroelectric power generation systems installed. Dams are considered "installations containing dangerous forces" under international humanitarian law due to the massive impact of a possible destruction on the civilian population and the environment. Dam failures are comparatively rare, but can cause immense damage and loss of life when they occur. In 1975 the failure of the Banqiao Reservoir Dam and other dams in Henan Province, China caused more casualties than any other dam failure in history. The disaster killed an estimated 171,000 people and 11 million people lost their homes.

Main causes of dam failures

Common causes of dam failure include:

Sub-standard construction materials/techniques (Gleno Dam) Spillway design error (near failure of Glen Canyon Dam, Oroville Dam, Walnut Grove Dam) Lowering of dam crest height, which reduces spillway flow (South Fork Dam) Geological instability caused by changes to water levels during filling or poor surveying (Malpasset Dam). Sliding of a mountain into the reservoir (Vajont Dam – not a dam failure, but caused nearly the entire volume of the reservoir to be displaced and overtop the dam) Poor maintenance, especially of outlet pipes (Lawn Lake Dam, Val di Stava dam collapse) Extreme inflow (Shakidor Dam) Human, computer or design error (Buffalo Creek Flood, Dale Dike Reservoir, Taum Sauk pumped storage plant) Internal erosion or piping, especially in earthen dams (Teton Dam) Earthquakes Climate-driven landscape instability (Rock-ice avalanches, Permafrost landslides, Debris flows, Outburst floods from glacial lakes and landslide-dammed lakes)

Deliberate breaching A notable case of deliberate dam breaching was the British Royal Air Force Dambusters raid on Germany in World War II (codenamed "Operation Chastise"), in which six German dams were selected to be breached in order to impact German infrastructure and manufacturing and power capabilities deriving from the Ruhr and Eder rivers. This raid later became the basis for several films. Attacks on dams were restricted in Article 56 of the 1977 Protocol I amendment to the Geneva Conventions. Dams may not be lawfully attacked "if such attack may cause the release of dangerous forces from the works or installations and consequent severe losses among the civilian population", unless "it is used for other than its normal function and in regular, significant and direct support of military operations and if such attack is the only feasible way to terminate such support". Similar provisions apply to other sources of "dangerous forces", such as nuclear power plants. Other cases include the Chinese bombing of multiple dams during Typhoon Nina (1975) in an attempt to drain them before their reservoirs overflowed. The typhoon produced what is now considered a 1-in-2,000-year flood, which few if any of these dams were designed to survive. The Kakhovka Dam was destroyed in June 2023, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

List of major dam failures

Expected dam failures Based on the advances in structural engineering, seismology and previous dam failures, it has become possible to predict, or in some cases to know with certainty, about future dam failures. Important additional aspects are typical experiences with lack of monitoring and maintenance of dams and the false operation of dams in favour of electricity production, not flood-control (leading to higher reservoir levels with less flood intake-capacity). Some dam failures, like that of Aswan High Dam in Egypt, will be of such catastrophic consequences, that scientists and engineers have conducted studies, based on the method of flood routing to predict volume, speed and spreading of a flood following a dam failure. These studies are among the most significant warnings to governments, as inland floods, based on the high volumes of water from reservoirs, are the most destructive among all industrial disasters. A study about the Breach of Aswan Dam resulting in 209 cubic kilometers of flood waters was presented to the president and the advisory board in November 16, 2024 by Hany El-Kateb.

See also Dam removal Grout curtain List of bridge failures List of hydroelectric power station failures Reservoir safety Structural integrity and failure

References

External links A list of dam failures and incidents in the United States Dam Safety.org Chronology of major tailings dam failures from 1960 WISE Uranium Project Chanson, H. (2009) Application of the Method of Characteristics to the Dam Break Wave Problem Journal of Hydraulic Research, IAHR, Vol. 47, No. 1, pp. 41–49 doi:10.3826/jhr.2009.2865 (ISSN 0022-1686). Available as a pdf at [2] Dam Failure and Flood Event Case History Compilation Archived 2016-03-08 at the Wayback Machine Bureau of Reclamation Mount Polley mine: Ex-engineers warned tailings pond 'getting large' Floods from tailings dam failures Story of Soviet dam explosion to prevent Nazi troop advances

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Dam failure

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Dam failure claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Dam failure before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Dam failure ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Dam failure

In research: Dam failure appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Dam failure in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Dam failure is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Dam failures, Technology hazards, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Dam failure outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Dam failure in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Dam failure means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Dam failure out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Dam failure in simple terms?

Why does Dam failure matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Dam failure?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Dam failure.