Rehabilitation of the Massingir Embankment Dam: A Concept Based on Finite Element Seepage Analysis

The safety and operability of the Massingir embankment dam have been limited since its inauguration in 1977. This is mainly because of uncontrolled, excessive under-seepage. As extensive rehabilitation measures, concluded in 2007, could not completely solve this problem, a new rehabilitation concept, consisting of a free-draining seepage berm with an integrated inverted filter, has been developed. In this paper, several rehabilitation alternatives are discussed, the schematic rehabilitation concept is elaborated and a survey is given of the subsequent seepage analysis by means of the numerical 2D program, PlaxFlow.