Assessment of water seepage through a geologic barrier surrounding a large reservoir using groundwater levels, soil condition, and a numerical model

Though the geologic barrier surrounding a dam reservoir plays an important role in preventing water seepage to the outside of a reservoir, a detailed survey to assess bedrock conditions of the whole reservoir boundary is seldom performed when designing a dam. In this study, a variety of investigations and analyses have been conducted to reveal a seepage phenomenon through a reservoir boundary composed of highly fractured metamorphic rocks at the Daechung multipurpose dam. At the study site, groundwater levels at monitoring wells located close to a reservoir tend to change proportionally to reservoir water levels, usually with a rapid response time of 1 day or less. Soil moisture content also changes with respect to the reservoir water level, and the area where seepage from the reservoir is a possibility has a relatively high soil moisture content. The similarity of measured seepage rates at the outflow site and the seepage rate estimated by Darcy’s law suggests strong connectivity and high density of the fractures. The estimated seepage rate using a numerical model for the northernmost valley (Zone 1) is approximately 127.2 m³/day in the case of high reservoir water level and 24.3 m³/day in the case of low water level. Continuous monitoring to obtain time series data for water levels, quality, and bedrock displacement is recommended to assess the sustainable stability of this geologic barrier.