Spillway design for extreme floods is a permanent concern of dam engineering. Dam safety particularly in the case of embankment dams depends closely on the satisfactory performance of the spillway. Unsatisfactory performance can result from: 1. inadequate discharge capacity; 2. faulty hydraulic and/or structural design; 3. faulty operation and maintenance procedures. This presentation focuses on hydraulic design principles derived from the experience with operation of large spillways. Uncertainties inherent to the spillway design flood estimates are briefly mentioned, and emphasis is given to actual spillway behavior and to lessons learned for betterment of spillway engineering. Safe operating conditions, meaning satisfactory operation under floods, is the more important concern of spillway design.
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