Chapter 15: Earth and tailings dams

Earth dams are normally constructed using locally available soils and rocks. They provide a sustainable source of water to meet agricultural, municipal and industrial demands, and often play a major role in flood protection and control. As a result of ageing, material deterioration, internal erosion, piping and desiccation of the upstream surface of the dam, the seepage losses through the dam section increase dramatically and may cause structural instability of the dam structure. In this chapter, an attempt is made to provide an overview of the application of both conventional and geosynthetic materials to minimise the seepage losses and to improve the overall performance. In addition, a section on the application of geosynthetics in the construction of tailings dams is provided. The chapter also highlights the role of the ageing mechanism and the durability of individual geosynthetic components with regard to accomplishing the required overall performance of earth and tailings dams.