ABSTRACT
The safety and performance of embankment dams must be controlled during the construction, during the first impounding and during long-term operation. In the words of ICOLD (1989b): ‘It is generally accepted that safety does not depend only on proper design and construction, but also on monitoring actual behaviour during the first few years of operation and over the service life of the structure’. For this purpose the dam and its vicinity and the foundation are equipped with measuring devices and controlling instruments. The total of these devices and instruments is called ‘dam instrumentation’.
