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SALUDA BACKUP DAM INSTRUMENTATION

Columbia, South Carolina

The Saluda Backup Dam was designed and constructed to contain Lake Murray in the event of a breach of the primary earthen dam during a seismic event. Inside the 1.3-million-yard roller compacted concrete and rock-fill backup dam is a gallery to facilitate instrumentation, inspection, and drainage. FME installed permanent instrumentation that included eleven vibrating wire piezometers (VWP), three remote monitoring stations for the VWP, and two seismic accelerometers.

FME installed the VWPs in the gallery to a maximum depth of 47 feet. Conduit and control wiring to connect the VWP to the remote monitoring stations were installed along the length of the gallery.

FME installed one seismic accelerometer on the crest of the backup dam and another in the Unit 5 penstock tunnel at the base of the backup dam. Conduit and control wiring was installed to connect the seismic accelerometers to the remote data recorder in the powerhouse.