History

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Quite naturally, early dam builders began by using plentiful materials like sand, timber and brush, and gravel. Their construction method consisted of carrying the materials by the basketful and loosely dumping the fill, so many of these dams may have survived only a few years. Scientists have not been able to pinpoint dates for the earliest dam construction, but they do know dams were needed where food was grown and in areas prone to flooding.

Design of fill dams is based on experience; while failures are unfortunate and sometimes catastrophic, they are also the best teachers, and many engineering advances have been founded on careful study of earlier failures. The engineers of ancient India and Sri Lanka were the most successful pioneers of fill dam design and construction, and remains of earth dams can still be seen in both countries. In Sri Lanka, long embankments called tanks were built to store irrigation water. The Kalabalala Tank was 37 mi (60 km) long around its perimeter.
The most famous earth fill dam recently constructed is the Aswan High Dam that was built across the Nile River in Egypt in 1970-1980. An earth fill dam was also the victim of a spectacular failure in June 1976 when the Teton Dam in Idaho eroded from within due to incorrect design of the zones inside the dam that allowed seepage, failure, and flooding of the valley downstream. Although earth dams tend to be short and broad, Nurek Dam in Tajikistan is 984 ft (300 m) high.


Read more: How fill dam is made - material, making, history, used, processing, dimensions, product, History, Raw Materials, Feasibility and Preliminary Design, Design, The Construction Process, Quality Control http://www.madehow.com/Volume-5/Fill-Dam.html#ixzz1MP83ydf2