Main Causes of Dam Failure
Common causes of dam failure include:
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- Sub-standard construction materials/techniques (Gleno Dam)
- Spillway design error (South Fork Dam, near failure of Glen Canyon Dam)
- Geological instability caused by changes to water levels during filling or poor surveying (Malpasset).
- Sliding of a mountain into the reservoir (Vajont Dam – not exactly a dam failure, but caused nearly the entire volume of said reservoir to be displaced and overtop the dam)
- Poor maintenance, especially of outlet pipes (Lawn Lake Dam, Val di Stava Dam collapse)
- Extreme inflow (Shakidor Dam)
- Human, computer or design error (Buffalo Creek Flood, Dale Dike Reservoir, Taum Sauk pumped storage plant)
- Internal erosion, especially in earthen dams (Teton Dam)
- Earthquake
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