Operating efficiency of a high-head dam

Conclusions

• 1. The attraction of additional low-flow discharges into the navigable branch (as a result of damming the comparatively long, several kilometers, nonnavigable branch) is an effective method of improving the group of riffles due to straightening them. The final result of the operating efficiency of the dam (due to a decrease of the average annual dredging volume) on rivers with a stable channel can be established several tens of years after operation of the dam.

• 2. High-head dams (with a head of about 1 m and more) constructed of rubble with a usual size of about 20 cm in diameter are subjected to frequent damages, and therefore require large expenditures on repair works. Therefore, high-head dams should be constructed from rock not of the usual size but of large size, 40–50 cm in diameter.