ing of the behaviour of compacted earthfill and rockfill and with the intro-
duction of modern high-capacity earthmoving plant. In the same period,
partly in consequence of several major disasters, the vital importance of
the interrelated disciplines of soil mechanics, rock mechanics and engin-
eering geology to dam engineering was finally established.
Analytical techniques have also progressed rapidly in recent years,
most specifically with the development of the elegant and extremely
powerful finite element analyses (FEA), now widely employed for the
most advanced analysis of all types of dam. The application of sophisti-
cated FEA techniques has, in turn, been dependent upon the ready avail-
ability and power of the modern computer. However, limitations on the
applicability of FEA remain, and they arise essentially from the complex
load response of all construction materials utilized in dams. These limita-
tions will be referred to further in Chapters 2 and 3 (Sections 2.7.2 and
3.2.8).
A comprehensive review of the history of dams lies beyond the scope
of this text. Reference should be made to the international and compre-
hensive historical review of dams from earliest times published in Smith
(1971) or to Schnitter (1994). The history prepared for the International
Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (Garbrecht, 1987) gives particu-
larly detailed descriptions of the earliest dams in parts of the Middle East
and of Central Europe; the text also includes a useful review of the devel-
opment of dams in Britain. More detailed and comprehensive accounts of
early British dams, and of 19th-century dams built by prominent engineers
of the period, are published in Binnie (1987a) and Binnie (1981) respec-
tively. The latter provides a valuable insight into the reasoning underlying
some design features of many older embankment dams.
1.2.4 Environmental and related issuesThe environmental, economic and other socio-political issues associated
with reservoir development must in all instances be acknowledged at the
outset and fully addressed thereafter. This is especially important in the
case of the larger high-profile projects and all others, large or lesser, sited
in environmentally or politically sensitive locations.
Political and public consciousness with regard to environmental
issues, compounded by a heightened awareness of issues associated with
climate change and interest in promoting sustainable development, has led
to growing international debate over the benefit derived from major dam
projects. This resulted in the setting-up of a 12-man ‘World Commission
on Dams’ (WCD; not to be confused with the International Commission
on Large Dams, ICOLD) under the auspices of the World Bank and the
World Conservation Union in 1998. WCD was charged with reviewing