Development of Dam Safety Remote Monitoring and Evaluation System

Abstract

More than 4,000 dams are constructed in Thailand for several purposes, including water supply, flood control, irrigation, and hydropower generation. Among these dams, 14 large dams are operated by the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT). As a dam operator, EGAT is committed to ensuring dam safety by regularly conducting dam inspections and maintenance. This paper presents the development and practical applications of the Dam Safety Remote Monitoring System (DS-RMS). The objective of DS-RMS is to enhance the EGAT’s implementation of its dam safety program in terms of dam monitoring by instrumentation to satisfy international recommendations. DS-RMS consists of five subsystems: Dam Behavior, Reservoir Operation, Earthquake Monitoring, Expert System and Public Communication. DS-RMS has been deployed at 14 large EGAT-operated dams across the country since 2016. Results show that the novel features of DS-RMS enable faster and more reliable dam safety monitoring and evaluation processes.