AbstractThis paper presents the results of theoretical investigation on the dynamic coupling of an ideal fluid‐porous medium‐elastic half‐space system subjected to SV waves to study the effect of sediment on the seismic response of dams for reservoirs that are deposited with a significant amount of sediment after a long period of operation. The effects of the porous medium and the incident wave angle on dynamic pressures in the overlying ideal fluid are analyzed, and the reflection and transmission coefficients of the wave at the material interfaces are derived using an analytical solution in terms of displacement potentials. The numerical test of modeling shows that the dynamic pressures significantly depend on the properties of porous medium. The fully saturated porous medium reduces the response peaks slightly, while the partially saturated porous medium causes a considerable increase in the resonance peaks. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.