Overviewing geotechnical issues associated with levees and dams in Europe and USA

• Main Authors: Van, M. A., Tourment, R., Beullac, B., BOTTEMA, M., Slomp, R., Simm, J., Rushworth, A., Hollingsworth, C., Peeters, P., Pohl, R., Sossenkina, E.
• Other Authors: DELTARES DELFT NLD, Partenaires IRSTEA, Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA), Risques, Ecosystèmes, Vulnérabilité, Environnement, Résilience (RECOVER), Aix Marseille Université (AMU)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA), RIJKSWATERSTAAT WVL LELYSTAD NLD, HRWALLINGFORD WALLINGFORD GBR, ENVIRONMENT AGENCY EXETER GBR, FLANDERS HYDRAULICS RESEARC, ANTWERPEN, BEL, TU DRESDEN DRESDEN DEU, HDR INC DENVER USA
• Format: Conference Object
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2019
• Subjects: [SDE]Environmental Sciences; Iceland
• Online Access: https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-02609687

International audience In ICOLD, a working group has been working on levees since 2015, preparing both a levee situation overview of Europe and USA, and a comparison between dams and levees. In both resulting reports, levee characteristics, geometry, safety and technical standards, design rules, governance, management and knowledge gaps are discussed. Levee and dam engineers can learn from each other. Geotechnical issues are significantly featured. This paper will give an overview of levees in Europe and USA, with special focus on their geotechnical aspects, such as geometry, materials, subsoil, failure modes, design rules and safety standards. Also special attention will be given to site investigation and monitoring. In both levees and dams, understanding of the performance and of associated uncertainties is a challenge. In assessing safety, geotechnical issues like internal erosion and different types of instability are essential, especially in the initiation of failure and the breaching process. Given these common interests, cooperation between TC201 of ISSMGE and a recently established ICOLD Technical Committee on Levees is important and should be encouraged; this cooperation has already been initiated as some members are involved in both committees.