Environmental & Engineering Geoscience FEBRUARY 2018
VOLUME XXIV, NUMBER 1
SPECIAL ISSUE ON DAMS GUEST EDITORS: BRIAN H. GREENE AND KERRY CATO
THE JOINT PUBLICATION OF THE ASSOCIATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND ENGINEERING GEOLOGISTS AND THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA SERVING PROFESSIONALS IN ENGINEERING GEOLOGY, ENVIRONMENTAL GEOLOGY, AND HYDROGEOLOGY
Environmental & Engineering Geoscience (ISSN 1078-7275) is published quarterly by the Association of Environmental & Engineering Geologists (AEG) and the Geological Society of America (GSA). Periodicals postage paid at AEG, 1100 Brandywine Blvd, Suite H, Zanesville, OH 43701-7303 and additional mailing offices. EDITORIAL OFFICE: Environmental & Engineering Geoscience journal, Department of Geology, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44242, U.S.A. phone: 330-672-2968, fax: 330-672-7949, ashakoor@kent.edu. CLAIMS: Claims for damaged or not received issues will be honored for 6 months from date of publication. AEG members should contact AEG, 1100 Brandywine Blvd, Suite H, Zanesville, OH 43701-7303. Phone: 844-331-7867. GSA members who are not members of AEG should contact the GSA Member Service center. All claims must be submitted in writing. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to AEG, 1100 Brandywine Blvd, Suite H, Zanesville, OH 43701-7303. Phone: 844331-7867. Include both old and new addresses, with ZIP code. Canada agreement number PM40063731. Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to Station A P.O. Box 54, Windsor, ON N9A 6J5 Email: returnsil@imexpb.com. DISCLAIMER NOTICE: Authors alone are responsible for views expressed inarticles. Advertisers and their agencies are solely responsible for the content of all advertisements printed and also assume responsibility for any claims arising therefrom against the publisher. AEG and Environmental & Engineering Geoscience reserve the right to reject any advertising copy. SUBSCRIPTIONS: Member subscriptions: AEG members automatically receive digital access to the journal as part of their AEG membership dues. Members may order print subscriptions for $60 per year. GSA members who are not members of AEG may order for $60 per year on their annual GSA dues statement or by contacting GSA. Nonmember subscriptions are $295 and may be ordered from the subscription department of either organization. A postage differential of $10 may apply to nonmember subscribers outside the United States, Canada, and Pan America. Contact AEG at 844-331-7867; contact GSA Subscription Services, Geological Society of America, P.O. Box 9140, Boulder, CO 80301. Single copies are $75.00 each. Requests for single copies should be sent to AEG, 1100 Brandywine Blvd, Suite H, Zanesville, OH 43701-7303. © 2018 by the Association of Environmental and Engineering Geologists All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from AEG. THIS PUBLICATION IS PRINTED ON ACID-FREE PAPER Abdul Shakoor Department of Geology Kent State University Kent, OH 44242 330-672-2968 ashakoor@kent.edu
EDITORS
Brian G. Katz Florida Department of Environmental Protection 2600 Blair Stone Rd. Tallahassee, FL 32399 850-245-8233 eegeditorbkatz@gmail.com
EDITORIAL BOARD Jerome V. DeGraff CSU Fresno Chester (Skip) F. Watts Radford University Thomas Oommen Michigan Technological Univ. Syed E. Hasan University of Missouri
Thomas J. Burbey Virginia Polytechnic Institute Abdul Shakoor Kent State University Brian G. Katz Florida Department of Environmental Protection
ASSOCIATE EDITORS John W. Bell Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology Richard E. Jackson Geofirma Engineering, Ltd. Jeffrey R. Keaton AMEC Americas Paul G. Marinos National Technical University of Athens, Greece June E. Mirecki U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Peter Pehme Waterloo Geophysics, Inc Nicholas Pinter Southern Illinois University
Paul M. Santi Colorado School of Mines Robert L. Schuster U.S. Geological Survey Roy J. Shlemon R. J. Shlemon & Associates, Inc. Greg M. Stock National Park Service Resat Ulusay Hacettepe University, Turkey Chester F. “Skip” Watts Radford University Terry R. West Purdue University
SUBMISSION OF MANUSCRIPTS Environmental & Engineering Geoscience (E&EG), is a quarterly journal devoted to the publication of original papers that are of potential interest to hydrogeologists, environmental and engineering geologists, and geological engineers working in site selection, feasibility studies, investigations, design or construction of civil engineering projects or in waste management, groundwater, and related environmental fields. All papers are peer reviewed. The editors invite contributions concerning all aspects of environmental and engineering geology and related disciplines. Recent abstracts can be viewed under “Archive” at the web site, “http://eeg. geoscienceworld.org”. Articles that report on research, case histories and new methods, and book reviews are welcome. Discussion papers, which are critiques of printed articles and are technical in nature, may be published with replies from the original author(s). Discussion papers and replies should be concise. To submit a manuscript go to http://eeg.allentrack.net. If you have not used the system before, follow the link at the bottom of the page that says New users should register for an account. Choose your own login and password. Further instructions will be available upon logging into the system. Please carefully read the “Instructions for Authors”. Authors do not pay any charge for color figures that are essential to the manuscript. Manuscripts of fewer than 10 pages may be published as Technical Notes. For further information, you may contact Dr. Abdul Shakoor at the editorial office. Cover photo Crafton Hills Reservoir, San Bernardino County, California. The first dam (center of photo) was completed in 2002; the second dam (left-of-center) was completed in 2014 to expand reservoir capacity with removal of the adjoining ridge between the two drainages. See article on page 23. Photo credit: California Department of Water Resources.
Foreword BRIAN H. GREENE Gannett Fleming, Inc., 730 Holiday Drive, Building 8, Suite 400, Pittsburgh, PA 15222
KERRY CATO Department of Geological Sciences, California State University, San Bernardino, 5500 University Parkway, San Bernardino, CA 92407
This special issue of Environmental and Engineering Geoscience (E&EG) had its origins from the Dams Symposium held at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the Association of Environmental & Engineering Geologists (AEG) in Kona, HI. Many interesting papers on new and existing dams were presented over this 2-daylong symposium. At the Kona Annual Meeting, it was proposed that a special journal issue be published to capture many of the outstanding papers that came out of this conference. Dams represent an important part of the aging infrastructure within the United States. Federal government agencies, state agencies, universities, consulting firms, and individual consultants have been working on many important projects. It is very clear that, although few new dams are being constructed, this era of our practice is a renaissance in dam technology and understanding, compelled by the necessity of extending the life of dams beyond what they were designed for, in some cases 75 years or more. It is with pride that we took on the role of guest editors for this journal issue of E&EG focusing on the topic of dams. Members of the AEG Dams Technical Working Group contributed to the special issue, both as co-authors of papers, and serving as peer reviewers of draft manuscripts. The efforts of these individuals are greatly appreciated. The work of volunteer peer reviewers contributed significantly to the publication of this special issue of the journal. Peer review is an arduous but important task that is vital to maintaining the quality of published journal papers. The articles in this issue define the full range of technical aspects of dam assessment, evaluation, and remediation. Highlights of each paper are given below: Michael Nield, of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Dam Safety Production Center in Huntington, WV, reviewed the construction of a grout curtain emplaced at the Corps’ Bolivar Dam, located in northern Ohio. The embankment dam is founded on glacial outwash and ties into bedrock at its left abutment. Ongoing seepage in the bedrock had been monitored, and as part of the overall dam remediation work, a doubleline grout curtain was installed in the left abutment to a depth of 65 ft (19.8 m), over a distance of 400 ft fmii
(121.9 m). The paper reviews risk-informed decisions that were made during design and construction of the grout curtain, and it presents important lessons learned from this project. Holly Nichols, of the California Department of Water Resources, writes on the seepage investigation for remedial grouting at the Crafton Hills Reservoir Project. Located in San Bernardino County, CA, the Crafton Hills Reservoir experienced areas of seepage upon refilling of the enlarged reservoir. After monitoring and investigations, the decision was made to seal off seepage pathways with foundation grouting. The geologic investigation is described in the paper, which reviews the use of multiple testing methods, leading to a more robust plan of remedial grouting. Co-authors Bruce Hilton, Ronn Rose, William McCormick, and Todd Crampton review the use of highresolution light detection and ranging (LiDAR) in fault delineation at the location of the existing Martis Creek Dam, located in Truckee, CA. The embankment dam, operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, has been rated as very high risk and in need of remedial work. A history of excessive seepage during even moderate reservoir levels has prevented the project from fulfilling its full potential water storage function. Use of high-resolution LiDAR uncovered a previously unknown through-going lineament between the spillway and the main dam embankment. Paleoseismic trenching at the site was performed. The fault trenching confirmed the fault zone location. LiDAR was a key factor in discovering lineaments that subsequently revealed faulting at the site. In their paper, Kerry Cato and J. David Rogers examine Alexander Dam, located on the Hawaiian island of Kauai. The hydraulic fill dam was constructed in 1929– 1932 to provide irrigation for sugar cane fields. The dam was designed to have a maximum height of 125 ft (38 m) and to store a reservoir volume of 800 million gallons of water. On March 29, 1930, a section of the core pool 60 ft (18.3 m) wide suddenly dropped 30 ft (9.1 m). The volume of the slide debris mass was approximately 275,000 cubic yards (210,000 m3 ). At the time of failure, the embankment was 95 ft (29 m) high. The failure
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Foreword
occurred extremely rapidly and resulted in the deaths of six workmen, and it injured an additional two. The paper examines the cause of the failure and the rebuilding of the dam in 1932, and it shows that hydraulic fill structures can be hazardous during construction. The reconstructed hydraulic fill embankment, with its mitigation measures, has performed well for 85 years, and it is the second highest embankment dam in Hawaii. Todd Loar’s paper provides a qualitative analysis of wedge stability performed for Green Peter Dam, located in west-central Oregon. A risk assessment identified continuous and adversely oriented low-angle rock shear zones underlying portions of the foundation of the concrete gravity dam. These shear features were of concern because they could potentially facilitate instability of one or more dam monoliths during earthquake loading. After performing a qualitative evaluation of the geometry of rock wedges, the study revealed that the wedges would likely be stable under even large probabilistic seismic loading. The paper provides very useful information on methodologies that can be employed for evaluating similar concrete gravity dams that could be subject to seismic loads. In a paper that summarized the Keynote Lecture at the 2016 Kona Dams Symposium, J. David Rogers describes the construction and operation of Gatun Dam, a megastructure of the Panama Canal. Gatun Dam was a kingpin of the American scheme to construct a ship canal across Panama in 1907–1914 to connect the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Gatun Dam was an earthen structure of unprecedented scale that was designed to retain the aggregate flow of the Chagres River and all its principal tributaries. The dam was the key structure— it created a man-made lake that, rising 85 ft (25.9 m) above sea level, permitted ships to cross the continental divide in Panama. The dimensions of Gatun Dam were enormous and without precedent at the time of its construction. It had a crest length of 8,200 ft (2,500 m), a maximum width of 2,300 ft (701 m), and a height of 105 ft (32 m). The dam stored a huge operating pool and included a critical feature: a mass concrete spillway capable of passing very unpredictable flow volumes from the Chagres River. The paper describes the challenges imposed during construction of the dam related to the underlying geology. Co-authors David Schug, Paul Salter, Christopher Goetz, and Derek Irving describe the fault investiga-
tions that were undertaken for the Borinquen Dam 1E of the new Pacific Access Channel of the Panama Canal Expansion. The 1.4-mi-long (2.3-km-long) zoned rockfill dam forms the key navigational channel providing access from the Gaillard Cut to the new Post-Panamax Pacific Locks of the Panama Canal. During construction, an important objective for project geologists was to confirm the locations and activity of faults mapped in the foundation for the dam during design. A significant feature was the Pedro Miguel Fault and its trace with respect to the dam. The paper describes the paleoseismic trenching that was performed, as well as age dating of alluvium overlying the faults. The paper describes the widening of the core and filters of Dam 1E to accommodate potential fault rupture of the Pedro Miguel Fault. Further conclusions derived from the extensive fault studies are presented. Co-authors Vanessa Bateman and Georgette Hlepas of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers describe in their paper the important lessons learned from construction of a seepage barrier wall at the Corps’ Wolf Creek Dam in Kentucky. The agency is maintaining a lessons-learned goal for all major projects to capture knowledge gained. This is of key importance as future projects are designed and constructed. From the first barrier wall installed in the 1970s at Wolf Creek Dam to the recent deep barrier wall emplaced at this project, as well as at other embankment dams, documentation of and sharing of important lessons learned in the areas of foundation grouting, data management, and quality control procedures have been documented. In doing so, the paper describes the increased efficiencies and effectiveness of barrier wall designs, preparation of specifications, and project monitoring, with the goal of improving current and future barrier wall projects. Environmental and Engineering Geoscience co-editor Abdul Shakoor was invaluable in maintaining the schedule of this publication and in offering frequent assistance to authors requiring guidance on manuscript format. In addition, E&EG publications assistant Karen Smith was a constant source of support and guidance, providing us with all that was needed to assemble this issue on dams from its inception to final publication. The AEG Dams Working Group recognizes and appreciates support from the Association of Environmental and Engineering Geologists for the publication of these papers in E&EG.
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Environmental & Engineering Geoscience Volume 24, Number 1, February 2018 Table of Contents Guest Editors: Brian H. Greene and Kerry Cato 1
Gatun Dam—Megastructure of the Panama Canal J. David Rogers and Manuel H. Barrelier
23
Seepage Investigation for Remedial Grouting, Crafton Hills Reservoir, California Holly J. Nichols
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Pedro Miguel Fault Investigations: Borinquen Dam 1E Construction and the Panama Canal Expansion David L. Schug, Paul Salter, Christopher Goetz, and Derek Irving
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Qualitative Rock Wedge Stability Evaluation Performed for Foundation of Green Peter Dam, Oregon Todd N. Loar
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Lessons Learned from USACE Seepage Barrier Wall Construction: Wolf Creek to Present Georgette Hlepas and Vanessa Bateman
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Failure of the Alexander Dam Embankment and Reconstruction Using Drainage Mitigation on Kauai, Hawaii, 1930–1932 Kerry D. Cato and J. David Rogers
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Discovering the Polaris Fault, Martis Creek Dam,Truckee, California Lewis E. Hunter, Ronn S. Rose, Bruce Hilton, William McCormick, and Todd Crampton
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Grout Curtain Construction at Bolivar Dam, Ohio Michael C. Nield
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