Geological Survey of India

CaseStudyofTehriDamProject,DistrictTehriGarhwal,Uttarakhand

Tehri Dam Project, a prestigious hydropower cum irrigation project, is the first major
attempttoharnessvasthydropotentialofBhagirathiriverwhichisfedbyGangotriGlacier.The
storageprojectintheBhagirathivalleyinUttarakhandHimalaya,envisagesimpoundingofsurplus
monsoon water of the river for utilizing it in regulated manner for hydropower generation and
irrigation.ItwasconceivedbytheofficersofGeologicalSurveyofIndiain1949andinvestigations
were initiated in 1961. Initially, four alternative sites at Tehri, Dobata, Dobra and Uppu were
consideredforlocatingthedam.ThepresenceofSshapednarrowgorgefollowedinupstreamby
a considerably broad valley with extensive terraces capable of supplying enormously large
quantities of construction material, favourably disposed strata of varying lithology with almost
uniform geomechanical characteristics, absence of any major tectonically active feature in the
areawerethegeotechnicalfactorswhichmadeTehrisite,locatedatdownstreamofconfluenceof
Bhagirathi and Bhilangana rivers, very suitable for construction of one of the worlds highest
storagedams.

This mega project of 2000MW installed capacity, envisaged construction in two stages.
The stageI, is termed as Hydropower Plant (HPP) and StageII comprising a Pump Storage Plant
(PSP),haveaninstalledcapacityof1000MWeach.Frominceptiontotheyear1988,theproject
was executed by Irrigation Department of Uttar Pradesh and afterwards by Tehri Hydro
DevelopmentCorpn.Ltd.(THDC).

After commissioning of both the stages, the project will facilitate i) addition to the
installedgeneratingcapacityinthenortherngridby2400MWwhichmeansavailabilityofannual
energy (Peaking) to the tune of 6200Million Units, ii)additional Irrigation Facilities for 2.70 Lac
Hectareoflandandstabilisationofexistingirrigationfacilities(besidesabove)of6.04LacHectare
ofland,iii)availabilityof300Cusecs(162milliongallonsperday)ofdrinkingwatertomeetthe
requirementof40LacpopulationofNCRofDelhiinaddition200cusecs(108milliongallonsper
day) of drinking water for about 30 Lac population of the towns and villages of U.P. Additional
benefits accruing out of the project area i) development of Garhwal Region, ii) relocation and
construction of New Tehri town with the provision of all modern civic amenities, iii) improved
communication,educationandhealth,iv)developmentofhorticulture,fisheriesandafforestation

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oftheregionandv)developmentoflocaleconomythroughpromotionofecotourismandwater
sports.

Although the project came under construction in 1978, some sitespecific investigations
continued for geotechnical data generation and more so to nullify apprehensions raised by a
number of environmentalists. The latter has repeatedly interfered in and many times stalled
constructionactivitiesattheprojectsitesresultinginunjustifieddelaysandmultifoldescalationin
overallprojectcost.

In view of topography, geology, physical properties of foundation, seismicity, availability

of material and economy of construction, a rock fill dam with a subvertical clay core was
constructedatTehridamsite.Therelativeheightofdamabovethedeepestfoundationlevel(El
593.30m) is 246.20m. The upstream (U/S) and downstream (D/S) slopes (H: V) of the dam are
2.5:1and2:1,respectivelyandthewidthofthedamatthebottomis1125m.Thetopofdamisat
EL839.5mwhereitis20mwideand575mlong.

Tehri dam spillways consisting of gated chute spillway on the right bank, two ungated
shaft spillways connected to both the right bank diversion tunnels T3 and T4, two gated shaft
spillwaysconnectedtoboththeleftbankdiversiontunnelsT1andT2,andanintermediatelevel
outlet at EL 700m connected to the right bank shaft of Tunnel T3, have been designed for a
probablemaximumfloodof15540cumecs(inflow).Theroutedflooddischargecorrespondingto
maximum water level (MWL) of 835.0m through the spillways would be of the order of 13400
cumecs.Itwouldinvolveadropof220m,whichwouldrequiresuitablearrangementsforenergy
dissipation.

Anundergroundpowerhouseof1000MWcapacityhasbeenconstructedontheleftbank.
It consists of four units of 250 MW each, i.e. (4 x 250 MW), and the appurtenant works. Two
headracetunnelsof8.5mdiaandeachabout1100mlengthswillcarrywaterfromreservoirtothe
powerhouse.TheinvertlevelofintakeisatEL720m.

In the stageII of the project i.e. Pump Storage Plant, an underground powerhouse with
installed capacity of 1000 MW (four reversible units each of 250 MW) is proposed to be
constructedontheleftbank.Twoheadracetunnels,eachof8.5mdia,andabout1100mlength,
willcarrywaterfromthereservoirtothispowerhouse.Therewillbetwotailracetunnels,eachof

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about 10m dia and 1000m lengths, to serve as downstream water conductor system up to the
Koteshwarreservoir.

The preliminary investigations, preconstruction stage investigations were taken up by

GSI,whichcontinuedtilltheprojectcameunderconstructionstagein1978.Duringconstruction
stage,officersofGeologicalSurveyofIndiacontinuedwithdetailedgeotechnicalinvestigationsto
rendernecessaryadvicetotheengineers.

The construction stage engineering geological investigations at different sites were fully
accomplished by the end of the year 2005 and the construction of main dam, spillway, and
underground power house complex stageI, (IC 1000MW) was completed in early 2006.The
stageIofTehriDamProjectwascommissionedon30thJuly2006.

TheTehridamprojectarealieswithintheMainHimalayanBlock(MHB),inthemidlands
of Lesser Himalaya, bounded to the north and south by regional tectonic lineamentsthe Main
Central Thrust (MCT) and Main Boundary Fault (MBF) respectively. The former, to the North,
separatesthemetasedimentarysequenceofLesserHimalayafromthecrystallinerocksofHigher
Himalaya and the latter marks boundary between lesser Himalayan and tertiary sequence of
FrontalFoothillBelt(FFB),inthesouth.

ThefoldedmetasedimentaryrocksexposedattheTehridamsiteformanuninterrupted
sequence of Chandpur phyllites (Pt 3 ProterozoicIII) having variable proportions of argillaceous
andarenaceousconstituents.Consideringtherhythmicityofintercalatedbandsofarenaceousand
argillaceousmaterialandvarieddegreeoftectoniceffectsinthem,thephyllitesatthedamsite
havebeenclassifiedintomainlyfourlithologicalvariants.Theseare,i)Phylliticquartzitemassive
(PQM), ii) Phyllitic quartzite thinly bedded (PQT), iii) Quartzitic phyllite (QP) and iv) Sheared/
schistosephyllite(SP).

The mostimportant tectonicfeatureinthevicinity oftheTehri damsiteis moderate to

steep dipping Srinagar thrust (N60oWS600E), exposed at a distance of about 5km N N E of the
dam site. This tectonic surface which, at places, is displaced by transverse faults, has a regional
continuityofmorethan100km.Srinagarthrustisdisplacedforabout500mbyatransversefault,
Dewaltear(N60oES600W),nearDewalvillageinBhilanganavalley.

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With a view to provide maximum assurance of safety, the dam has been designed
adopting most stringent design criteria, incorporating certain features which would ensure its
safety,inanunforeseenmajorseismicevent.

i) Averyconservativedesignslope,withU/Sslopeof2.5:1andD/Sslopeof2.0:1,asagainst
relatively steeper slopes in some recent dams built/proposed in region of very high
seismicity.

ii) Averywidecrestof20m,whichincreasesto25matitscontactwithabutments,hasbeen
provided.

(iii) A very liberal free board of 9.5m above FRL has been provided to take care of any
settlement,slumpingduetoearthquakeandwaveaction.

(iv) TheD/Sfilterasdesignediscapableofpreventingmigrationoffinestparticles(clayflocks)
intheeventofitscrackingandwouldnotpermitanypiping.Azoneoffine(sand)filterhas
beenprovidedontheU/Sface,whichintheunlikelyeventofcrackingofcorewouldget
washedintocracksandsealthem.

(v) The dam shell material is being compacted to unprecedented high density of minimum
2.36 tons/m3 to ensure little settlement, so that no pore pressure is built up during
earthquakes.

(vi) The dam embankment is founded directly on bedrock, after removal of all loose, semi
compactoverburden,thuseliminatingpossibilityoffoundationliquifactionduringslaking
intheeventofanyearthquake.

(vii) Theprovisionofaccessgalleriesatthreedifferentlevels,onabutments,belowdamseat
and within the core to enable physical monitoring during operation, would help taking
timelymeasures,throughthesegalleries,intheeventofanydistress.

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ContributionsofGSI:

Significant contribution and resolving of geological problems by GSI during construction

stage include i) Status of river bed shear zones and validation of its nonentity, ii) Geological
assessment of right bank (spillway area) and identification of potential failure modes, iii). Block
tectonicmodelofthedamsite,iv)Geotechnicalassessmentofthestabilityofmaintenancegate
shafts(MGS)areaanditstreatments,v)changeinthedesignatthejunctionofchutespillwayand
stillingbasinbyprovidingadditionalshearkeybecauseofpoorrockmassconditionalongdiagonal
shear (D1), vi) 2D analysis of the machine hall cavity and finalization of support system of
undergroundpowerhousecomplex.,vii)StabilityanalysisoftheRightBankShaftSpillway(RBSS)
areaandfinalizationofsupportsystemoftheshaftspillways,

viii)Changeindesignofcofferdam,ix).Seismicstabilityvis.avis.aseismicdesignofthemain
dam.

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GatedchutespillwayandungatedshaftspillwayauniquefeatureofTehriDamProject

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