Spillway

dams lack overow spillways and rely entirely on bottom

outlets.

Cross section of a spillway

There are two main types of spillways: controlled and uncontrolled.

A controlled spillway has mechanical structures or gates
to regulate the rate of ow. This design allows nearly the
full height of the dam to be used for water storage yearround, and ood waters can be released as required by
opening one or more gates.

Chute spillway of Llyn Brianne dam in Wales

A spillway is a structure used to provide the controlled

release of ows from a dam or levee into a downstream
area, typically being the river that was dammed. In the
UK they may be known as overow channels. Spillways
release oods so that the water does not overtop and damage or even destroy the dam. Except during ood periods,
water does not normally ow over a spillway. In contrast,
an intake is a structure used to release water on a regular basis for water supply, hydroelectricity generation,
etc. Floodgates and fuse plugs may be designed into spillways to regulate water ow and dam height. Other uses
of the term spillway include bypasses of dams or outlets
of a channels used during highwater, and outlet channels
carved through natural dams such as moraines.

An uncontrolled spillway, in contrast, does not have gates;

when the water rises above the lip or crest of the spillway
it begins to be released from the reservoir. The rate of
discharge is controlled only by the depth of water above
the reservoirs spillway. Storage volume in the reservoir
above the spillway crest can only be used for the temporary storage of oodwater; it cannot be used as water
supply storage because it is normally empty.

In an intermediate type, normal level regulation of the

reservoir is controlled by the mechanical gates. If inow
to the reservoir exceeds the gates capacity, an articial
channel called either an auxiliary or emergency spillway
that is blocked by a fuse plug dike will operate. The fuse
plug is designed to over-top and wash out in case of a large
ood, greater than the discharge capacity of the spillway
gates. Although it may take many months to restore the
1 Types
fuse plug and channel after such an operation, the total
damage and cost to repair is less than if the main waterA spillway is located at the top of the reservoir pool. retaining structures had been overtopped. The fuse plug
Dams may also have bottom outlets with valves or gates concept is used where it would be very costly to build a
which may be operated to release ood ow, and a few spillway with capacity for the probable maximum ood.
1

1.1

TYPES

Chute spillways

Chute spillways are common and basic in design as they

transfer excess water from behind the dam down a smooth
decline into the river below. These are usually designed
following an ogee curve. Most often, they are lined on
the bottom and sides with concrete to protect the dam
and topography. They may have a controlling device and
some are thinner and multiply lined if space and funding are tight. In addition, they are not always intended
to dissipate energy like stepped spillways. Chute spillways can be ingrained with a bae of concrete blocks
but usually have a 'ip lip' and/or dissipator basin which
creates a hydraulic jump, protecting the toe of the dam
Bell-mouth spillway of Hungry Horse Dam in operation.
from erosion.[1]

1.2

Stepped spillways

Main article: Stepped spillway

Stepped channels and spillways have been used for over

the surface of the reservoir may freeze, this type of spillway is normally tted with ice-breaking arrangements to
prevent the spillway from becoming ice-bound.
In some cases bell-mouth spillways are gate controlled.
The spillway at Hungry Horse Dam (pictured right), the
highest morning glory structure in the world,[12] is controlled by a 64-by-12-foot (19.5 by 3.7 m) ring gate.
However the largest remains in Geehi Dam, measuring
105 ft (32 m) in diameter at the lakes surface.[13][14][15]

1.4 Siphon spillway

A stepped chute baed spillway of the Yeoman Hey Reservoir in

England.

3,000 years.[2] Recently, new construction materials (e.g.

RCC, gabions) and design techniques (e.g. embankment
overtopping protection) have increased the interest in
stepped spillways and chutes.[3][4] The steps produce considerable energy dissipation along the chute[5] and reduce
the size of the required downstream energy dissipation
basin.[6][7]

A siphon makes use of the dierence in the height between the intake and the outlet to create a pressure difference needed to remove excess water. Siphons however
require priming or the removal of air in the bend in order
for them to function and most siphon spillways are designed with a system that makes use of water to remove
the air and automatically prime the siphon. One such design is the volute siphon which makes use of water forced
into a spiral vortex by volutes or ns on a funnel that draw
air out of the system. The priming happens automatically
when the water level rises above the inlets that are used
to drive the priming process.[16]

Research is still active on the topic, with newer

developments on embankment dam overow protection systems,[7] converging spillways[8] and small weir 1.5 Other types
design.[9]
Other spillway types include an ogee crest which over-tops
a dam, a side channel that wraps around the topography
1.3 Bell-mouth spillways
of a dam and a labyrinth which uses a 'zig-zag' design to
increase the sill length for a thinner design and increased
Some spillways are designed like an inverted bell so that discharge. There is also a drop inlet which resembles an
water can enter all around the perimeter. These uncon- intake for a hydroelectric power plant but transfers water
trolled spillway devices are also called morning glory,[10] from behind the dam directly through tunnels to the river
glory hole[10] or bell-mouth[11] spillways. In areas where downstream.[17]

3
The energy can be dissipated by addressing one or more
parts of a spillways design.
Steps
First, on the spillway surface itself by baes and/or steps
along the spillway.
Flip bucket
Second, at the base of a spillway, a ip bucket can create
a hydraulic jump and deect water upwards.
Serrated weir spillway of Taiwans Li-Yu-Tan Reservoir.

Ski jump

A ski jump can also direct water horizontally and eventually down into a plunge pool or two ski jumps can direct
their water discharges to collide with one another.[19][20]

Design considerations

The largest ood that needs be considered in the evaluation of a given project, regardless of whether a spillway is
provided; i.e., a given project should have structures capable of safely passing the appropriate spillway design ood
(SDF). A 100-year recurrence interval is the ood magnitude expected to be exceeded on the average of once
in 100 years. It may also be expressed as an exceedance
frequency with a one per cent chance of being exceeded
in any given year.

2.1

Stilling basin
Third, a stilling basin at the terminus of a spillway serves
to further dissipate energy and prevent erosion. They are
usually lled with a relatively shallow depth of water and
sometimes lined with concrete. A number of velocityreducing components can be incorporated into the their
design to include chute blocks, bae blocks, wing walls,
surface boils or an end sill.[21]

Energy dissipation

3 Safety
Spillway gates may operate suddenly without warning,
under remote control. Trespassers within the spillway
run the risk of drowning. Spillways are usually fenced
and equipped with locked gates to prevent casual trespassing within the structure. Warning signs, sirens, and
other measures may be in place to warn users of the downstream area of sudden release of water. Operating protocols may require cracking a gate to release a small
amount of water to warn persons downstream.
The sudden closure of a spillway gate can result in the
stranding of sh, and this is also usually avoided.

4 Gallery
A U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Type-III stilling basin

As water passes over a spillway and down the chute,

potential energy converts into increasing kinetic energy.
Failure to dissipate the waters energy can lead to scouring
and erosion at the dams toe (base). This can cause spillway damage and undermine the dams stability.[18] To put
this energy in perspective, the spillways at Tarbela Dam
could, at full capacity, produce 40,000 MW; about ten
times the capacity of its power plant.[19]

A labyrinth spillway and a sh ladder (left) of the

Hope Mills Dam in North Carolina
Spillway with ip bucket at Burdekin Dam.
Water enters Hoover Dam's Arizona drum-gate
spillway (left) during the 1983 oods.
A labyrinth spillway entrance (bottom) at the Ute
Dam in New Mexico.

7
An ogee-type spillway at the Crystal Dam in
Colorado.
An emergency spillway with fuse plug (bottom) and
an auxiliary ogee spillway (top) at New Waddell
Dam.
Semicircular spillways of Ohzuchi Dam (Shiga
Pref., Japan)
Looking down into the Bell mouth spillway at Llyn
Celyn

See also
Dam safety system
Reservoir

References

[1] Henry H., Thomas. Chute spillways, The Engineering of

Large Dams. Retrieved 2010-07-05.
[2] H. Chanson (20012002). Historical Development of
Stepped Cascades for the Dissipation of Hydraulic Energy.
Transactions of the Newcomen Society, Vol. 71, No. 2,
pp. 295-318.
[3] H. Chanson (1995). Hydraulic Design of Stepped Cascades, Channels, Weirs and Spillways. Pergamon. ISBN
0-08-041918-6.
[4] H. Chanson (2002). The Hydraulics of Stepped Chutes and
Spillways. Balkema. ISBN 90-5809-352-2.
[5] N. Rajaratnam (1990). Skimming Flow in Stepped Spillways. Jl of Hyd. Engrg., ASCE, Vol. 116, No. 4, pp.
587-591. Discussion : Vol. 118, No. 1, pp. 111-114.
[6] H. Chanson (2001). Hydraulic Design of Stepped Spillways and Downstream Energy Dissipators. Dam Engineering, Vol. 11, No. 4, pp. 205-242.
[7] C.A. Gonzalez & H. Chanson (2007). Hydraulic Design
of Stepped Spillways and Downstream Energy Dissipators
for Embankment Dams. Dam Engineering, Vol. 17, No.
4, pp. 223-244.
[8] S.L. Hunt, S.R. Abt & D.M. Temple (2008). Hydraulic
Design of Stepped Spillways and Downstream Energy Dissipators for Embankment Dams. Impact of Converging Chute Walls for Roller Compacted Concrete Stepped
Spillways.
[9] I. Meireles, J. Cabrita & J. Matos (2006). Non-Aerated
Skimming Flow Properties on Stepped Chutes over Small
Embankment Dams In:Hydraulic Structures: a Challenge
to Engineers and Researchers Proceedings of the International Junior Researcher and Engineer Workshop on Hydraulic Structures IJREWHS'06, 205 pages. St. Lucia,
Qld.: University of Queensland, Division of Civil Engineering. ISBN 1-86499-868-7.

EXTERNAL LINKS

[10] Lake Berryessa, Bureau of Reclamation, Mid-Pacic Region. Dept. of Interior. 2010-04-26. Retrieved 201102-19.
[11] Ratnayaka, Don D.; Brandt, Malcolm J.; Johnson, K.
Michael (2009). Tworts water supply. (6th ed. ed.). Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann. p. 177. ISBN 0-75066843-1.
[12] Hungry Horse Dam. U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Retrieved 1 November 2010.
[13] http://www.snowyhydro.com.au/energy/hydro/dams/
[14] Stene, Eric A. Hungry Horse Project History. U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Retrieved 1 November 2010.
[15] Storey, Brit Allan (2008). The Bureau of Reclamation:
history essays from the centennial symposium, Volume 1.
United States Government Printing Oce. p. 36. ISBN
978-0-16-081822-6. Retrieved 1 November 2010.
[16] Rao, Govinda NS (2008). Design of Volute Siphon..
Journal of the Indian Institute of Science 88 (3): 915930.
[17] Hydraulic Design, Types of Spillways. Rowan University. Retrieved 2010-07-05.
[18] Irrigation and Water Power Engineering. Firewall Media.
1992. pp. 500501. ISBN 81-7008-084-3. |rst1= missing |last1= in Authors list (help)
[19] Novak, P. (2008). Hydraulic structures (4. ed., repr. ed.).
London [u.a.]: Taylor & Francis. pp. 244260. ISBN
0-415-38625-X.
[20] Chanson, Hubert (2002). The hydraulics of stepped chutes
and spillways. Exton, PA: A. A. Balkema Publishers. p.
1. ISBN 90-5809-352-2.
[21] Hager, Willi H. (1992). Energy dissipators and hydraulic
jump. Dordrecht u.a.: Kluwer. pp. 213218. ISBN 07923-1508-1.

7 External links
Chris, Fish. The Glory Hole. - information, images, and construction information about the Lake
Berryessa glory hole.

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

8.1

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Spillway Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spillway?oldid=638256101 Contributors: Bryan Derksen, Shyamal, Mac, Hike395,

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8.2

Images

File:Bonneville_Dam_spillway_cross-section.png Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7b/Bonneville_Dam_

spillway_cross-section.png License: Public domain Contributors: U.S. Army Corp of Engineers Digital Visual Library
Digital Visual Library home page
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U.S. Bureau of Reclamation photographer
File:LiYuTan_Reservoir,Taiwan.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/04/LiYuTan_Reservoir%EF%BC%
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File:USBORTypeIIIStillingBasin.gif Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3b/USBORTypeIIIStillingBasin.gif
License: Public domain Contributors: http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/engineering/hydraulics/pubs/06086/hec14ch08.cfm - U.S. Federal Highway Administration Hydraulic Design of Energy Dissipators for Culverts and Channels, Chapter 8 Original artist: United States Bureau
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8.3

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