Leakage Detection Survey of the Qaraoun Dam, Lebanon Using Remotely Operated Vehicle
In April of 2010 a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) inspection was completed on the upstream face of the Qaraoun Dam in Lebanon. The survey was completed under contract with International Resources Group (IRG) of Washington, D.C. with funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for the Litani River Authority (LRA) who operates the facility. This inspection was for the purpose of identifying leaks between the joints on the face slabs of the dam. To complete the inspection, Aquatic Sciences L.P. of Orchard Park, New York, operated their Seabotix LBV300XL ROV equipped with a dye injection system along each joint on the dam face. While inspecting the dam face general conditions of the concrete slabs were observed. In many areas offsets and misalignments of the slabs were noted. In some areas broken or spalled edges were identified. Silt accumulation at the deep sections of the dam was heavy, thus covering some features on the dam face. Two areas with large leaks were identified. The first major leak was located at Vertical Joint 24 at 831.3 m elevation. This leak was on a length of the vertical joint below the third horizontal joint. The second area with a large volume leak was detected at Vertical Joint O1 just above the abutment at elevation 847.4 m. It appeared two leaks in the same proximity were identified here. This area had been reported by LRA as repaired in August of 2009. Other smaller leaks were identified at Joint 32 elevation 838 m, Joint 31 at 835 m, Joint 29 at 842 m and Joint O2 at 835 m. Since the ROV inspection was completed in a timely manner, some additional time was used to inspect the power tunnel inlet, the irrigation tunnels inlet and the spillway structure. During the inspection, the ROV was able to positively identify problems along the face of the dam relating to the source of leaks. The goals of the inspection were completed successfully.