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RCC Makes Two More Georgia Embankment Dams Safer
Building on the success of roller-compacted concrete (RCC) overtopping
protection at Yellow River Watershed Dams No.
14 and No. 17, the Natural Resources
Conservation Service (NRCS) and Gwinnett County, Georgia recently
completed upgrades to two more embankment dams. The dams are located
approximately 30 miles (48 km) northeast of Atlanta. NRCS built
the dams in early 1960s; however, Gwinnett County currently owns
and operates the dams.
The county has been experiencing fast growth over the past two
decades. Earthen embankments which were originally built to protect
rural pasture and farmland are now protecting residential and commercial
developments. A major issue with many of these earthen dams has
been inadequate spillway capacity. Due to their lack of spillway
capacity, these dams have been re-classified as hazardous dams and
required upgrades to prevent catastrophic failures during maximum
design flood events. Since the mid-1980’s, RCC has been successfully
used on more than 100 earthen dams to armor the downstream slopes
and the crests of dams, thereby allowing overtopping of the dams
without the risk of failures due to erosion of embankment materials.
The two recently completed dam overtopping protection projects,
Yellow River Watershed Dams No. 15 and No. 16, are within 3 miles
(5.4 km) of each other. Golder Associates, Inc., Atlanta, designed
No. 15 upgrades and Schnabel Engineering, Atlanta, designed No.
16 upgrades. NRCS and Gwinnett County elected to award both projects
under one contract to realize the cost savings from setting up one
instead of two RCC plants. The contract was awarded to ASI Constructors
of Buena Vista, Colorado. Based on bid quantities, a total of 12,500
yd3 (9,600 m3) and 3,000 yd3 (2,300
m3) of RCC were used for No. 15 and No. 16, respectively.
The average in-place unit cost of RCC considering the bids for both
sites was $157.34/yd3 ($205.78/m3).
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| Yellow River Watershed Dam No. 16 |
Yellow River Watershed Dam No. 16 covered
with soil and grassed. |
The RCC plant staging area was adjacent to No. 15 dam site. Dump
trucks transported the RCC from the mixing plant to the hoppers
of telescoping cranes positioned at the dam sites. The cranes then
conveyed the materials to the points of placements. The projects
were completed in March 2007. For aesthetical purposes, the RCC
slopes were covered with soil and grassed.
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| Yellow River Watershed Dam No. 15 |
Yellow River Watershed Dam No. 15 covered
with soil and grassed. |
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