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Leakage Detection on Dams

Across the UK, dams and spillways are reaching or exceeding their design life. As a result, there is an increased risk of failure leading to interruptions to water supply systems, the effectiveness of flood defences and even a risk to life. Additional strain is caused by more extreme weather events as the UK experiences the effects of climate change.

Non-invasive geophysics provides the opportunity to investigate the subsurface of a dam or spillway, where there is significant potential for unidentified defects to develop.

It is not possible to provide a single methodology for all dam and spillway investigations as each site will present unique factors, however it is often found that an integrated combination of geophysical techniques can often provide the level of information required.

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