This thesis aims to improve our understanding of how riverine ecosystems respond to dam removal. Riverine and particularly riparian ecosystems are among the most variable and important features of all landscapes. They connect landscape elements both longitudinally and laterally, and are governed by processes such as flooding, erosion and deposition that create dynamic, diverse and heterogeneous habitats. In fact, riparian zones are among the world’s most species-rich habitats. Worldwide there are millions of dams that fragment stream and river systems, regulate flows and degrade ecosystems. Dams impact freshwater, marine and terrestrial ecosystems and threaten biodiversity by disrupting organism movements and energy flows in the landscape. An important upstream effect of dams is inundation of habitats and development of new shorelines around impounded areas. Effects downstream of dams are mainly caused by changed hydrological regimes and retention of organic and inorganic materials in reservoirs, leading to reduced transport and dispersal of for example seeds to reaches downstream. The removal of dams create expectations that biota will eventually recover. We have studied a number of dam removal projects in Sweden. Our experimental results showed that following dam removal, newly exposed soils in former impoundments were rapidly colonized by pre-removal species. Their species richness increased slightly with time and their species composition indicated a slow change towards that in the reference site. In addition, the vegetation in formerly impounded areas showed a direction of change from lentic riparian plants (high proportion of aquatics) towards lotic ones, consisting of native perennials typical of free-flowing streams. We also found that the apprehensions that former impoundments would turn into pools of mud did not come true; in fact, a process towards more pristine channel morphology was observed. After removal there was erosion and downstream transport of sediment. We found only minor effects on macroinvertebrate communities. For example, a few species decreased over the years, suggesting that dam removal in itself might cause a temporary disturbance. This highlights the importance of long-term studies after dam removal, and also the importance of comparisons with pre-removal conditions and stretches unaffected by dams. Thorough documentation of executed dam removal projects and distribution of the results and experiences are tremendously important in the planning process of future decommissioning projects. Also, our experiences have taught us that in order to attain a successful dam removal it is important to involve stakeholders such as non-governmental organizations and local inhabitants in the process.

This dissertation aims to improve our understanding of how dams and reservoirs impact freshwater systems worldwide. The following questions were addressed specifically: 1) what are the spatial patterns and magnitudes of flow regulation and channel fragmentation by dams globally; 2) how are dam impacts distributed biogeographically, and which are the biogeographic regions and taxa most threatened by dam impacts; and 3) how can climate change and dams be expected to interact in basins, and what management actions would mitigate adverse interactions? Results show that the majority of the world’s large river systems are fragmented and have their flow altered by dams. Exceptions to this tend to lie in regions inhospitable to hydropower development, such as northern tundra, or in the least economically active regions. The biogeographic distribution of dam impact is widespread, both at terrestrial and freshwater scales, representing significant threat to global biodiversity. Relatively species-poor tundra is the world’s only terrestrial ecoregion which remains predominantly unaffected by dams. Nearly half of the world’s freshwater ecoregions are internally fragmented by dams, and ecoregional distinctions may be artifically imposed by dams in many cases. Freshwater ecoregions with the highest counts of total and endemic species remain relatively unobstructed, representing significant conservation potential. Diadromy is one of the few fish traits indicative of vulnerability to dams for which data are sufficient for global scale analysis. Lampreys (Lampetra spp.), Eels (Anguilla spp.) and Shad (Alosa spp.) are examples of genera particularly vulnerable to dams because their distributions coincide with the most heavily fragmented freshwater ecoregions, and a large proportion of the coincident species for each genera are diadromous. Due to changes in discharge and water stress, the area of large river basins in need of management interventions to protect ecosystems or people will be much greater for basins impacted by dams than for basins with free-flowing rivers. Proactive measures that restore the natural capacity of rivers to buffer climate-change impacts are more desirable than reactive actions since they may also lead to environmental benefits such as higher water quality and restored fish populations – benefits which may later be unattainable.

Tsunamis are among the most terrifying and complex physical phenomena potentially affecting almost all coastal regions of the Earth. Tsunami waves propagate in the ocean over thousands of kilometres away from their generating source at considerable speeds. Among several other tsunamis that occurred during the past decade, the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami and the 2011 Tohoku Tsunami in Japan, considered to be the deadliest and costliest natural disasters in the history of mankind, respectively, have hit wide stretches of densely populated coastal areas. During these major events, severe destruction of inland structures resulted from the action of extreme hydrodynamic forces induced by tsunami flooding. Subsequent field surveys in which researchers from the University of Ottawa participated ultimately revealed that, in contrast to seismic forces, such hydrodynamic forces are not taken into proper consideration when designing buildings for tsunami prone areas. In view of these limitations, a novel interdisciplinary hydraulic-structural engineering research program was initiated at the University of Ottawa, in cooperation with the Canadian Hydraulic Centre of the National Research Council, to help develop guidelines for the sound design of nearshore structures located in such areas. The present study aims to simulate the physical laboratory experiments performed within the aforementioned research program using a single-phase three-dimensional weakly compressible Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) numerical model. These experiments consist in the violent impact of rapidly advancing tsunami-like hydraulic bores with individual slender structural elements. Such bores are emulated based on the classic dam-break problem. The quantitatively compared measurements include the time-history of the net base horizontal force and of the pressure distribution acting on columns of square and circular cross-sections, as well as flow characteristics such as bore-front velocity and water surface elevation. Good agreement was obtained. Results show that the magnitude and duration of the impulsive force at initial bore impact depend on the degree of entrapped air in the bore-front. The latter was found to increase considerably if the bed of the experimental flume is covered with a thin water layer of even just a few millimetres. In order to avoid large fluctuations in the pressure field and to obtain accurate simulations of the hydrodynamic forces, a Riemann solver-based formulation of the SPH method is utilized. However, this formulation induces excessive numerical diffusion, as sudden and large water surface deformations, such as splashing at initial bore impact, are less accurately reproduced. To investigate this particular issue, the small-scale physical experiment of Kleefsman et al. (2005) is also considered and modeled. Lastly, taking full advantage of the validated numerical model to better understand the underlying flow dynamics, the influence of the experimental test geometry and of the bed condition (i.e. dry vs. wet) is investigated. Numerical results show that when a bore propagates over a wet bed, its front is both deeper and steeper and it also has a lower velocity compared to when it propagates over a dry bed. These differences significantly affect the pressure distributions and resulting hydrodynamic forces acting on impacted structures.

A lot of mine waste rock and tailings arise from all mining processes and have to be stored in an appropriate way. Tailings are deposited in impoundments retained by tailings dams. The objective of tailings dams is to retain the slurry from the mining process and in that way prevent spill into the surroundings that might be harmful for the environment. Tailings dams are often constructed as staged embankments so that construction costs and demand of materials are spread more evenly over the period of deposition. The objective of this thesis has been to compile information about and evaluate events at Swedish tailings dams and also to develop a collective database for all Swedish mining companies for all tailings dams and all events that occur at tailings dams. Information about 60 events at Swedish tailings dams has been gathered and evaluated. The evaluation has been performed by comparison between and analysis of individual parameters and also by use of a multivariate statistical method called PLS. The statistical analysis shows a decrease in the numbers of events during the last five years, which indicates improved dam safety within the mining industry. The analysis also shows that severe events and the human factor might be related when it comes to the initiating cause of the event. Further relations between the parameters and the severity of the events can be seen from the PLS-analysis, for example that low and short tailings dams to a greater extent are subjected to severe events. To be able to draw more reliable conclusions further studies with a more complete basic data are needed. This work has shown a need of a collective database within the Swedish mining industry for tailings dams and occurring events at tailings dams so that more complete basic data could be obtained for future studies. A structure for such a database has been developed in Microsoft Access 2000. The aim of the database is to facilitate feedback within the mining industry and to gather comprehensive data for future statistical evaluations. / Vid alla gruvprocesser skapas stora mängder restprodukter i form av gråberg och anrikningssand som måste tas om hand på lämpligt sätt. Anrikningssanden deponeras tillsammans med vatten från gruvprocessen i magasin omgärdade av dammvallar, s.k. gruvdammar. Gruvdammar har som syfte att hålla kvar anrikningssand och vatten och måste vara stabila så att de skyddar omgivningen från utsläpp av anrikningssand som skulle kunna vara skadligt för miljön. En gruvdamm byggs ofta upp i etapper eftersom byggkostnaderna och behovet av dammfyllnadsmaterial då sprids över tiden. Syftet med arbetet har varit att sammanställa och utvärdera händelser vid svenska gruvdammar samt att utforma ett för gruvindustrin gemensamt dammregister och felrapporteringssystem. 60 händelser vid svenska gruvdammar har sammanställts och utvärderats. Utvärderingen har genomförts dels genom att enskilda parametrar jämförts och analyserats och dels med hjälp av den multivariata analysmetoden PLS. Den statistiska analysen visar på en minskning i antal händelser under de senaste fem åren, vilket tyder på ett förbättrat dammsäkerhetsarbete inom gruvindustrin. Analysen har kunnat uppvisa ett samband mellan allvarliga händelser och den mänskliga faktorn när det gäller vad det är som initierat händelserna. Genom PLS-analysen har ytterligare samband mellan de undersökta parametrarna och allvarlighetsgraden av händelserna kunnat utläsas, bl.a. visar analysen att låga och korta dammar i större utsträckning drabbas av allvarliga händelser jämfört med höga och långa dammar. För att säkra slutsatser ska kunna dras krävs dock vidare studier med ett mer komplett statistiskt underlag. Examensarbetet har påvisat ett behov av ett branchgemensamt damm- och felrapporteringsregister för att ett mer komplett underlag ska kunna erhållas i framtiden. En färdig databasstruktur för ett sådant dammregister och felrapporteringsregister för svenska gruvdammar har utformats. Databasen är uppbyggd i Microsoft Access 2000 och är tänkt att underlätta erfarenhetsåterföring inom branschen samt att ge ett underlag för framtida statistiska undersökningar.

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Within the framework of risk assessment and risk management, determination of the failure probability of dams plays an important role. In this paper, the probabilistic approach to hydraulic failure elaborated by the author in the nineties will be developed further and refined. Furthermore, it is shown how the random event “gate failure” can be taken into account when calculating the overtopping probability of barrages. / Im Rahmen von Risikobetrachtungen spielt die Bestimmung der Überflutungswahrscheinlichkeit eine wichtige Rolle. Im vorliegenden Beitrag wird der probabilistische Ansatz, welcher in den neunziger Jahren vom Autor erarbeitet worden ist, weiterentwickelt und modifiziert. Außerdem wird gezeigt, wie das zufällige Ereignis „Versagen von Verschlüssen“ in die Berechnung der Überflutungswahrscheinlichkeit von Stauanlagen einbezogen werden kann.

Dam failures and the following emptying of the reservoir are very seldom. But such catastrophes caused significant damages in the past. The related risk has to consider as high despite the high return period. The paper describes the development of hazard maps showing the dimension of inundation in the downstream region of the dam due to a potential failure. The needed data and possible used software for the dam break flood simulation were discussed. A dam break occurred in the catchment area of the Müglitz river in the Ore mountains during the flood 2002 is described. / Das Versagen einer Talsperre mit einer sich anschließenden Entleerung des Stauraumes ist sehr selten. Jedoch zogen solche Ereignisse in der Vergangenheit immer große Schäden nach sich, so dass trotz der geringen Eintrittswahrscheinlichkeit das Risiko als hoch einzuschätzen ist. Der Beitrag behandelt die Erstellung von Gefahrenkarten, die Auskunft darüber geben, wie groß die zu erwartende Überflutung infolge eines Bruches eines Absperrbauwerkes sein könnte. Dabei soll auf die zu ermittelnden Ausgangsdaten ebenso wie auf die zur Verfügung stehende Software zur Simulation der Ausbreitung von Talsperrenbruchwellen eingegangen werden. Als Fallbeispiel wird auf einen Dammbruch während des Hochwassers 2002 im Einzugsgebiet der Müglitz im Erzgebirge eingegangen.

Successful dam design endeavor involves generating technical solutions that can meet intended functional objectives and choosing the best one among the alternative technical solutions. The process of choosing the best among the alternative technical solutions depends on evaluation of design conformance with technical specifications and reliability standards (such as capacity, environmental, safety, social, political etc pecifications). The process also involves evaluation on whether an optimal balance is set between safety and economy. The process of evaluating alternative design solutions requires generating a quantitative expression for lifetime performance and safety. An objective and numerical evaluation of lifetime performance and safety of dams is an essential but complex undertaking. Its domain involves much uncertainty (uncertainty in loads, hazards, strength parameters, boundary conditions, models and dam failure consequences) all of which should be characterized. Arguably uncertainty models and risk analysis provide the most complete characterization of dam performance and safety issues. Risk is a combined measure of the probability and severity of an adverse effect (functional and/or structural failure), and is often estimated by the product of the probability of the adverse event occurring and the expected consequences. Thus, risk analysis requires (1) determination of failure probabilities. (2) probabilistic estimation of consequences. Nonetheless, there is no adequately demonstrated, satisfactorily comprehensive and precise method for explicit treatment and integration of all uncertainties in variables of dam design and risk analysis. Therefore, there is a need for evaluating existing uncertainty models for their applicability, to see knowledge and realization gaps, to drive or adopt new approaches and tools and to adequately demonstrate their practicability by using real life case studies. This is required not only for hopefully improving the performance and safety evaluation process accuracy but also for getting better acceptance of the probabilistic approaches by those who took deterministic design based research and engineering practices as their life time career. These problems have motivated the initiation of this research. In this research the following have been accomplished: (1) Identified various ways of analyzing and representing uncertainty in dam design parameters pertinent to three dominant dam failure causes (sliding, overtopping and seepage), and tested a suite of stochastic models capable of capturing design parameters uncertainty to better facilitate evaluation of failure probabilities; (2) Studied three classical stochastic models: Monte Carlo Simulation Method (MCSM), First Order Second Moment (FOSM) and Second Order Second Moment (SOSM), and applied them for modeling dam performance and for evaluating failure probabilities in line with the above mentioned dominant dam failure causes; (3) Presented an exact new for the purpose analytical method of transforming design parameters distributions to a distribution representing dam performance (Analytical Solution for finding Derived Distributions (ASDD) method). Laid out proves of its basic principles, prepared a generic implementation architecture and demonstrated its applicability for the three failure modes using a real life case study data; (4) Presented a multitude of tailor-made reliability equations and solution procedures that will enable the implementations of the above stochastic and analytical methods for failure probability evaluation; (5) Implemented the stochastic and analytical methods using real life data pertinent to the three failure mechanisms from Tendaho Dam, Ethiopia. Compared the performance of the various stochastic and analytical methods with each other and with the classical deterministic design approach; and (6) Provided solution procedures, implementation architectures, and Mathematica 5.2, Crystal Ball 7 and spreadsheet based tools for doing the above mentioned analysis. The results indicate that: (1) The proposed approaches provide a valid set of procedures, internally consistent logic and produce more realistic solutions. Using the approaches engineers could design dams to meet a quantified level of performance (volume of failure) and could set a balance between safety and economy; (2) The research is assumed to bridge the gap between the available probability theories in one hand and the suffering distribution problems in dam safety evaluation on the other; (3) Out of the suite of stochastic approaches studied the ASDD method out perform the classical methods (MCSM, FOSM and SOSM methods) by its theoretical foundation, accuracy and reproducibility. However, when compared with deterministic approach, each of the stochastic approaches provides valid set of procedures, consistent logic and they gave more realistic solution. Nonetheless, it is good practice to compare results from the proposed probabilistic approaches; (4) The different tailor-made reliability equations and solution approaches followed are proved to work for stochastic safety evaluation of dams; and (5) The research drawn from some important conclusions and lessons, in relation to stochastic safety analysis of dams against the three dominant failure mechanisms, are. The end result of the study should provide dam engineers and decision makers with perspectives, methodologies, techniques and tools that help them better understand dam safety related issues and enable them to conduct quantitative safety analysis and thus make intelligent dam design, upgrading and rehabilitation decisions.

This presentation was prepared for a conference focusing on risk assessment and facility siting issues in Sweden in 2001. This talk presents key findings from the Hoover Dam Ethnographic Studies.

Im Rahmen wasserwirtschaftlicher Planungen ist eine Vielzahl unterschiedlicher Zielsetzungen zu berücksichtigen. Diese ergeben sich u. a. aus den Vorgaben der EU-Wasserrahmenrichtlinie (EUWRRL), dem Leitbild einer nachhaltigen Landnutzung, dem Hochwasserschutz und der Freizeitnutzung. In der Praxis ist die Umsetzung dieser Ziele eine anspruchsvolle Aufgabe, für die geeignete Hilfsmittel entwickelt werden müssen. Zu diesem Zweck unterstützte die Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt (DBU) für drei Jahre (06/2002 - 06/2005) ein Verbundprojekt zur Entwicklung von „Verbesserten Ansätzen für Wasser- und Stoffstrommanagement in intensiv genutzten kleinen Einzugsgebieten auf der Grundlage von integrierten Nutzen- und Risikobewertungen (wsm300)“.