Upgrade enhances safety of the Waba dam, Canada

A complex refurbishment scheme was recently completed, ahead of schedule and below budget, at the Waba embankment dam in Canada. Foundation treatment was required, as the dam had been constructed on an 80 m-deep deposit of sensitive, high plasticity, marine clays. Key features of the scheme were raising the height of the core and crest, providing a filter on the downstream face of the core, providing a new buttress berm, and the provision of a modern, automated, instrumentation and monitoring system.