Abstract
ABSTRACT Dams provide a water supply, irrigation and power generation. However, the economic, social and environmental impacts are serious when they rupture. It is important that dams continue to function properly and are constantly evaluated for their safety and functionality. Contrary to general belief, small dams are the ones that present the most problems, because they are often built without adequate design and construction methods. One of the methods to evaluate the safety of a dam is through the Dam Safety Index (DSI), which may not entirely avoid subjectivity in dam safety assessment but does propose balanced individual subjectivities in determining the weights of the index criteria. The DSI can also assist managers with preventive maintenance schedules in a dam safety assessment. This work aims to reassess the importance of the parameters of the DSI based on a new weighting of these criteria. The modification of the DSI shows a new bias in the weighting of the criteria that composes the index, not only considering technical aspects, but also legal and environmental ones.
Highlights
According to the criteria defined by each regulatory agency, dams are classified by risk category (RC) and associated potential damage
Despite the efforts of the regulatory agencies, according to the Dam Safety Report prepared by the Brazilian National Water Agency in 2018, only ~18% of the dams registered are subject to the law application and many of them do not have the necessary information to be classified
Brazil has long-established methods and design criteria for the construction of earth dams. These have not been sufficient for preventing accidents, which shows that there are other factors to be considered in dam safety assessment
Summary
Unlike other countries, where laws for the safety of dams are older, in Brazil, the regulations were only formed in 2010. According to the criteria defined by each regulatory agency, dams are classified by risk category (RC) and associated potential damage. Despite the efforts of the regulatory agencies, according to the Dam Safety Report prepared by the Brazilian National Water Agency in 2018, only ~18% of the dams registered are subject to the law application and many of them do not have the necessary information to be classified. There is not necessarily an association between the RC and the level of safety of the dam, since several of them are classified with medium/low RC present significant problems; it is necessary to improve or supplement the classification criterion. Much still needs to be done to make the law more effective
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