10-02-2016, 03:23 PM
Dam is a solid barrier constructed at a suitable location across a river valley to store flowing water.
Storage of water is utilized for following objectives:
Hydropower
Irrigation
Water for domestic consumption
Drought and flood control
For navigational facilities
Other additional utilization is to develop fisheries
Heel: contact with the ground on the upstream side
Toe: contact on the downstream side
Abutment: Sides of the valley on which the structure of the dam rest
Galleries: small rooms like structure left within the dam for checking operations.
Diversion tunnel: Tunnels are constructed for diverting water before the construction of dam. This helps in keeping the river bed dry.
Spillways: It is the arrangement near the top to release the excess water of the reservoir to downstream side
Sluice way: An opening in the dam near the ground level, which is used to clear the silt accumulation in the reservoir side.