| "In view of the state of the Japanese economy and budget, existing dams must be effectively used as a valuable stock of infrastructure. Appropriate maintenance and safety management of dams are therefore essential.For the safety management of existing dams in Japan, leakage/seepage, deformation, uplift/pore water pressure, stress, strain, temperature and so on are measured, and dam bodies and their foundation surfaces are also inspected visually.In this paper, we first summarize general information on dam safety management, such as items measured, and frequency of measurement. Because there are frequent large earthquakes in Japan, safety inspections are very important immediately after an earthquake as well as during normal conditions, and so there is a regulation governing special safety inspections immediately after a major earthquake. We describe the regulation on this matter. In addition, we introduce comprehensive inspections and evaluations of aged dams. Finally, seismic safety evaluation of dams against large earthquake motions are also introduced." |
