Coupled effects of heavy rainfall and falling water‐level exhibit the most significant influences on reservoir bank failures

Abstract

AbstractMass failures are often induced or activated by the variation of hydrological factors within a reservoir area. Clarifying the relationships between the failure volume and different hydrological factors may help to identify both the dominant factors influencing reservoir bank failures and the most hazardous combinations of factors inducing such events. This study examines the influence of different hydrological factors on bank failures using model experiments incorporating variations in rainfall, wave and water level. The results indicate that the coupled effects of heavy rainfall and falling water‐level had the most significant impact on bank failure. The cumulative failure mass of the reservoir bank peaked at 177.2 × 103 cm3 under the coupled effects of rainfall and falling water‐level. In comparison, the cumulative mass failures on the reservoir bank under rainfall superimposed onto waves and rainfall superimposed onto water level rise were 162.4 × 103 and 129.2 × 103 cm3, respectively. The impact of heavy rainfall significantly contributed the mass failures on soil reservoir bank. The analysis reveals that the highest cumulative failure, 106.3 × 103 cm3, occurred during periods of heavy rainfall. Compared with heavy rainfall, the cumulative failure volumes in the reservoir experienced a reduction of 46% and 55% under solely declining and solely rising reservoir water levels, respectively. The early phases of changing hydrological conditions have a significant effect on the stability of the soil reservoir bank. Mass failures on the bank predominantly occurred during the initial three events of the five simulation experiments performed for each landform, which could account for up to 87% of the total volume. Hence, it is advisable to avoid lowering reservoir water levels during periods of sustained heavy rainfall in order to mitigate the risk of bank failure.