The Rhymney Bridge Incident

In the early part of 2013 the spillway at Rhymney Bridge 2 reservoir in South Wales failed due to uplift pressures after a storm event.

Unfortunately the incident occurred in the winter during a period when there were a number of storms following one after the other and more than one metre of snow on the ground.

The paper will describe how the incident was managed during a period of extreme weather that caused the reservoir, which had been emptied, to fill and overflow.

It will describe the emergency repairs, how judgement had to be practised on the ground, how significant investment had to be provided by the owner and how the Panel Engineer planned measures for the possible situation where the dam might reach a condition close to failure.

The paper will conclude with a description of the permanent repairs at the site.