The project consisted of a comprehensive safety review of the La Fe Dam (Colombia) carried out by the Ofiteco–iPresas consortium. The dam is an embankment structure with a height of 34 metres above foundations and is used to supply drinking water to the metropolitan area of the Aburrá Valley. As part of the project, the following studies were conducted:
Geological and geotechnical characterisation of the materials of the dam body and foundation based on fieldwork and review of existing information.
Updated seismic hazard assessment.
Updated hydrological and hydraulic study of the La Fe Dam.
Technical inspection of the La Fe Dam.
Analysis of historical performance based on monitoring data.
Structural analysis of the dam body using several stress–strain and stability models.
Updating of flood inundation maps using a two-dimensional hydraulic model for spillway flows, dam breach, and bottom outlet opening, along the Negro River downstream of the dam.
Estimation of the consequences in terms of economic losses and loss of life for the communities located downstream of the dam.
Based on the results of the main analyses carried out, a qualitative assessment was performed through a failure mode identification process. Finally, a quantitative and semi-quantitative analysis was undertaken, together with the evaluation of dam risk using a hydrological risk model and a seismic risk model, to assess the failure modes considered following their classification during the failure mode workshops.
