Sustainable Operation of Dams Under the Sediment Threat

As 97% of the world’s water is salt water, only 3% of the remaining water is fresh water. Depending on population growth, freshwater resources are gradually decreasing due to its use for irrigation applications and energy needs and as drinking water. The most important structures for water storage, regular distribution and flood control are the dams. Dams contribute significantly to the areas where they are located in terms of socio-culture, economy and ecosystem. For this reason, it is very important to extend the lifetime of dam reservoirs in a project and it is even possible to provide sustainability with correct planning. In the reservoirs, the sediment is placed in two forms, as suspension load or bed load. Sediment can affect the performance of dam reservoirs. The lifetime of the dams is determined by the volume of sediment the dam receives during the operating period. The sustainability of the operation of the dam ceases when the dead storage, which is considered to be the sediment deposit, reaches to the limit. Sedimentation occurs not only in the dead storage, but also in the active (beneficial) storage. This situation also affects the performance of the dams and prevents the dams serving their purpose. In this study, different reservoir management strategies and measures that can be taken in sediment conservation for sustainable dam management are discussed.