Response of an old landslide to reservoir filling: A case history

1 Introduction It is generally believed that reservoir slope instability is mainly caused by unfavorable hydrodynamic evolution in the bank due to reservoir filling and/or operation. Many cases of instability were reported both in China and abroad, causing life fatalities and economic losses, and even leading to project abandonment[1-5]. Riemer[5] reviewed 60 published case histories and indicated that 85% of slide events happened during con- struction and/or filling period, or within 2 years …

Response of an old landslide to reservoir filling: A case history

Unfavorable hydrodynamic evolution is considered as the major cause leading to reservoir slope instability and is often modeled by numerical method. However, this simulation is seldom checked by systematic field instrumentation. Taking the opportunity of filling the Three Gorges Reservoir, a system was established in Xietan landslide to monitor reservoir water level, subground water level, seepage pressure, rainfall and deformation, etc. The monitored data during reservoir filling shows that: (1) The water level rise in the bank lags behind the reservoir filling and the lag time depends on the bank permeability; (2) rainfall-induced subground water rise and its lag time is closely correlated to hourly rainfall, indicating that it is not feasible or sufficient to use daily rainfall for analysis; (3) the effect of inverse seepage during reservoir filling on stability is ephemeral and reservoir filling is the major cause leading to bank instability.