Spillway

Chute spillway of Llyn Brianne dam in Wales

A spillway is a structure used to provide

the controlled release of flows from a dam
or levee into a downstream area, typically
the riverbed of the dammed river itself. In
the United Kingdom, they may be known as
overflow channels. Spillways ensure that
the water does not overflow and damage or
destroy the dam.

Floodgates and fuse plugs may be designed

into spillways to regulate water flow and
reservoir level. Such a spillway can be used
to regulate downstream flows – by releasing
water in small amounts before the reservoir
is full, operators can prevent sudden large
releases that would happen if the dam were
overtopped.

Other uses of the term "spillway" include

bypasses of dams or outlets of channels
used during high water, and outlet channels
carved through natural dams such as
moraines.

Water normally flows over a spillway only

during flood periods – when the reservoir
cannot hold the excess of water entering
the reservoir over the amount used. In
contrast, an intake tower is a structure used
to release water on a regular basis for water
supply, hydroelectricity generation, etc.

Types

A spillway is located at the top of the

reservoir pool. Dams may also have bottom
outlets with valves or gates which may be
operated to release flood flow, and a few
dams lack overflow spillways and rely
entirely on bottom outlets.

Cross section of typical spillway with

Tainter gates

There are two main types of spillways:

controlled and uncontrolled.

A controlled spillway has mechanical

structures or gates to regulate the rate of
flow. This design allows nearly the full
height of the dam to be used for water
storage year-round, and flood waters can
be released as required by opening one or
more gates.

An uncontrolled spillway, in contrast, does

not have gates; when the water rises above
the lip or crest of the spillway it begins to be
released from the reservoir. The rate of
discharge is controlled only by the depth of
water above the reservoir's spillway.
Storage volume in the reservoir above the
spillway crest can only be used for the
temporary storage of floodwater; it cannot
be used as water supply storage because it
is normally empty.

In an intermediate type, normal level

regulation of the reservoir is controlled by
the mechanical gates. If inflow to the
reservoir exceeds the gate's capacity, an
artificial channel called either an auxiliary or
emergency spillway that is blocked by a
fuse plug dike will operate. The fuse plug is
designed to over-top and wash out in case
of a large flood, greater than the discharge
capacity of the spillway gates. Although it
may take many months to restore the fuse
plug and channel after such an operation,
the total damage and cost to repair is less
than if the main water-retaining structures
had been overtopped. The fuse plug
concept is used where it would be very
costly to build a spillway with capacity for
the probable maximum flood.

Open channel spillway

Main article: Open channel spillway

Chute spillway

A chute spillway is a common and basic

design which transfers excess water from
behind the dam down a smooth decline into
the river below. These are usually designed
following an ogee curve. Most often, they
are lined on the bottom and sides with
concrete to protect the dam and
topography. They may have a controlling
device and some are thinner and multiply
lined if space and funding are tight. In
addition, they are not always intended to
dissipate energy like stepped spillways.
Chute spillways can be ingrained with a
baffle of concrete blocks but usually have a
'flip lip' and/or dissipator basin which
creates a hydraulic jump, protecting the toe
of the dam from erosion.[1]

Stepped spillway

Main article: Stepped spillway

A stepped chute baffled spillway of the

Yeoman Hey Reservoir in the Peak
District in England.

Stepped channels and spillways have been

used for over 3,000 years.[2] Despite being
superseded by more modern engineering
techniques such as hydraulic jumps in the
mid twentieth century, since around 1985[3]
interest in stepped spillways and chutes has
been renewed, partly due to the use of new
construction materials (e.g. Roller-
compacted concrete, gabions) and design
techniques (e.g. embankment overtopping
protection).[4][5] The steps produce
considerable energy dissipation along the
chute[6] and reduce the size of the required
downstream energy dissipation basin.[7][8]

Research is still active on the topic, with

newer developments on embankment dam
overflow protection systems,[8] converging
spillways[9] and small weir design.[10]

Bell-mouth spillway

Bell-mouth spillway of Hungry

Horse Dam in operation.

A bell-mouth spillway[11] is designed like an

inverted bell where water can enter around
the entire perimeter. These uncontrolled
spillways are also called morning glory,[12]
(after the flower) or glory hole[12] spillways.
In areas where the surface of the reservoir
may freeze, this type of spillway is normally
fitted with ice-breaking arrangements to
prevent the spillway from becoming ice-
bound.

In some cases bell-mouth spillways are gate

controlled. The spillway at Hungry Horse
Dam (pictured), in Montana, U.S., the
highest morning glory structure in the
world,[13] is controlled by a 64-by-12-foot
(19.5 by 3.7 m) ring gate. One of the most
well-known of these spillways is the one in
Covão dos Conchos reservoir lake, in
Portugal, which is constructed to look like a
natural formation; a video of this went viral
on the Internet in early 2016[citation needed].
The largest bell-mouth spillway is in Geehi
Dam, in New South Wales, Australia,
measuring 105 ft (32 m) in diameter at the
lake's surface.[14][15][16]

Siphon spillway

A siphon makes use of the difference in the

height between the intake and the outlet to
create a pressure difference needed to
remove excess water. Siphons however
require priming or the removal of air in the
bend in order for them to function and most
siphon spillways are designed with a system
that makes use of water to remove the air
and automatically prime the siphon. One
such design is the volute siphon which
makes use of water forced into a spiral
vortex by volutes or fins on a funnel that
draw air out of the system. The priming
happens automatically when the water level
rises above the inlets that are used to drive
the priming process.[17]

Other types

Other spillway types include an ogee crest

which over-tops a dam, a side channel that
wraps around the topography of a dam and
a labyrinth which uses a 'zig-zag' design to
increase the sill length for a thinner design
and increased discharge. There is also a
drop inlet which resembles an intake for a
hydroelectric power plant but transfers
water from behind the dam directly through
tunnels to the river downstream.[18]

Design considerations

One parameter of spillway design is the

largest flood it is designed to handle. The
structures must safely withstand the
appropriate spillway design flood (SDF),
sometimes called the inflow design flood
(IDF). The magnitude of the SDF may be set
by dam safety guidelines, based on the size
of the structure and the potential loss of
human life or property downstream. The
magnitude of the flood is sometimes
expressed as a return period. A 100-year
recurrence interval is the flood magnitude
expected to be exceeded on the average of
once in 100 years. This parameter may also
be expressed as an exceedance frequency
with a one per cent chance of being
exceeded in any given year. The volume of
water expected during the design flood is
obtained by hydrologic calculations of the
upstream watershed. The return period is
set by dam safety guidelines, based on the
size of the structure and the potential loss
of human life or property downstream.

The United States Army Corps of Engineers

bases their requirements on the Probable
Maximum Flood (PMF)[19] and the Probable
Maximum Precipitation (PMP). The PMP is
the largest precipitation thought to be
physically possible in the upstream
watershed[20]. Dams of lower hazard may
be allowed to have an IDF less than the
PMF.

Energy dissipation

A U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Type-III

stilling basin

As water passes over a spillway and down

the chute, potential energy converts into
increasing kinetic energy. Failure to
dissipate the water's energy can lead to
scouring and erosion at the dam's toe
(base). This can cause spillway damage and
undermine the dam's stability.[21] To put this
energy in perspective, the spillways at
Tarbela Dam could, at full capacity, produce
40,000 MW; about ten times the capacity of
its power plant.[22]

The energy can be dissipated by addressing

one or more parts of a spillway's design.[23]

Steps

First, on the spillway surface itself by a

series of steps along the spillway (see
stepped spillway).[5]

Flip bucket

Second, at the base of a spillway, a flip

bucket can create a hydraulic jump and
deflect water upwards.

Ski jump

A ski jump can also direct water horizontally

and eventually down into a plunge pool or
two ski jumps can direct their water
discharges to collide with one
another.[22][24]

Stilling basin

Third, a stilling basin at the terminus of a

spillway serves to further dissipate energy
and prevent erosion. They are usually filled
with a relatively shallow depth of water and
sometimes lined with concrete. A number of
velocity-reducing components can be
incorporated into their design to include
chute blocks, baffle blocks, wing walls,
surface boils or an end sill.[25]

Safety

Spillway gates may operate suddenly

without warning, under remote control.
Trespassers within the spillway run the risk
of drowning. Spillways are usually fenced
and equipped with locked gates to prevent
casual trespassing within the structure.
Warning signs, sirens, and other measures
may be in place to warn users of the
downstream area of sudden release of
water. Operating protocols may require
"cracking" a gate to release a small amount
of water to warn persons downstream.

The sudden closure of a spillway gate can

result in the stranding of fish, and this is
also usually avoided.

Gallery

Lake Berryessa overflowing into the Glory

Hole spillway at Monticello dam.

A labyrinth spillway and a fish ladder (left)

of the Hope Mills Dam in North Carolina.

Spillway with flip bucket at Burdekin Dam.

Water enters Hoover Dam's Arizona side

channel drum-gate spillway (left) during
the 1983 floods.

A labyrinth spillway entrance (bottom) at

the Ute Dam in New Mexico.

An ogee-type spillway at the Crystal Dam

in Colorado.

An emergency spillway with fuse plug

(bottom) and an auxiliary ogee spillway
(top) at New Waddell Dam.

Semicircular spillways of Ohzuchi Dam

(Shiga Pref., Japan)

Looking down into the Bell mouth spillway

at Llyn Celyn

Low-height spillway of Bonneville Dam with

sluice gates

A drop inlet in use at Horse Mesa Dam in

Arizona, circa 1940

The spillway at Monticello Dam, Lake

Berryessa, in operation. February 19, 2017.

The Geehi Dam spillway has never seen

water as of March 2019.

See also

References

External links

Last edited 15 days ago by Wtshyma…

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