Most hydro-mechanical equipment installed on dams and weirs are electro-mechanically actuated and this has been the standard for more than a century. Unfortunately there is also a considerable record of these types of gates failing to operate at critical periods or suffering unscheduled openings all of which add risk to dam safety and water supply. At a recent ANCOLD conference it was stated that human error and systems failures contribute almost 95% of the problems experienced on hydro-mechanical equipment in that region, and no doubt a similarly high proportion applies to the remainder of the world. It is precisely because of the unreliability of electro-mechanical equipment that a unique range of automatic self actuating hydro-mechanical equipment has been developed in South Africa and has been operating successfully for more than 20 years. Whilst the equipment is used for a variety of water control applications, of particular interest is its applications in: 1. increased storage in existing dams 2. improved spillway capacity 3. flood control This paper introduces the equipment by means of case studies on present installations.
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