River Intakes and Diversion Dams

The main purpose of this book is to contribute towards an understanding of the specifics of river diversion and to stimulate creativity, when tackling new projects. Many years of activity in hydraulic engineering has taught that the implementation of man-made constructions in natural river valleys should be approached with precision and constraint. Each river diversion project has its own individual character. The diversion structures, and only these, interfere with the changing river: its flow and floods, sediment load and floating debris. A successful design must, therefore, be based on detailed knowledge of the river hydrology. A recent trend in this field is to consider the given river as a system, and to define a conceptual model which embraces the relevant components and their links. Like most major civil engineering undertakings, a river diversion demands extreme precision. Many disciplines are involved: hydrology and hydraulics, soil and structure mechanics, concrete technology, mechanical and electrical engineering. This book pays particular attention to hydraulic design, involving aspects such as layout, structure shape and dimensions, and environmental effects.