Dams and water

Part of Civil engineering and infrastructure. Materials, bridges, tunnels, dams, disaster engineering and the codes behind them.

5 stories so far

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Civil & infrastructure4 Nov, 6:25 pm · 5 min read

Tina River hydropower starts placing roller-compacted concrete for its main dam

The 15 MW Solomon Islands project began its main dam on 26 October, in 67 layers of 300 mm each, and plans to start tunnel boring in December.

For you: Roller-compacted concrete is the method of choice for many new gravity dams because it is placed with earthmoving equipment and cures with less heat build-up. Tina River shows the method's layer-by-layer logic, and how a geological problem at one abutment can pause a dam's growth even while the rest of the work goes on.

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Civil & infrastructure28 Oct, 6:10 pm · 3 min read

US agencies study more winter storage behind Ririe Dam

A federal proposal asks whether winter flood-control space can shrink without raising flood risk downstream. Comments are open until 16 November.

For you: A dam has to serve two goals that pull against each other. Empty space protects towns from floods, and stored water supplies irrigation. This study shows how operators weigh the two using modelling, and why a rule change goes through public comment and review before it takes effect.

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Civil & infrastructure11 Oct, 2:27 pm · 6 min read

Adani and Druk Green sign deal for 770 MW Chamkharchhu-I in Bhutan

The peaking run-of-river plant in Zhemgang district is due to start construction in early 2027, with power for Bhutan in winter and India in summer.

For you: Bhutan and Nepal share the same geography and the same business model of exporting hydropower to India. Projects like this create years of work in headworks, desanding basins, headrace tunnels and powerhouse caverns, much of it done by South Asian engineers. Understanding peaking run-of-river design, joint-venture structures and cross-border power deals helps BCE graduates see where Nepal's own hydropower sector is heading and what skills it will hire for.

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Civil & infrastructure11 Oct, 2:03 pm · 6 min read

Diamer-Bhasha dam starts moving pozzolan for its RCC main dam

Extraction of natural pozzolan at Gini began for the 272 m roller-compacted concrete dam, which WAPDA plans as the tallest of its type.

For you: RCC dams are placed like road fill, spread and rolled in thin layers, which makes them faster and cheaper than conventional mass concrete. Replacing part of the cement with local pozzolan cuts cost, heat of hydration and carbon, all serious concerns in a massive dam. Nepal's planned storage projects will weigh the same choices. Concrete technology and hydraulic structures in BCE cover the basics behind these decisions.

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Civil & infrastructure11 Oct, 1:15 pm · 5 min read

Rogun, set to be the world's tallest dam, passes 190 m of 335 m

Webuild says Tajikistan's Rogun dam crest reached 1,155 m above sea level, letting the reservoir rise another 40 m.

For you: Nepal's storage projects, such as Budhigandaki and Dudhkoshi, will face the same questions Rogun answers: staged construction, generating power before the dam is complete, and placing huge volumes of fill to tight compaction specifications. Geotechnical engineering, dam design and construction management are core BCE subjects, and large dam projects employ civil engineers across the region, including in Nepal's own hydropower sector.

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