Aesthetics Play Key Role in Dam Rehabilitation: Water Resources

WATER RESOURCES
Aesthetics Play Key Role in

Dam Rehabilitation
Gregg W. Hudock, P.E. Golder Associates Inc.
A rapidly growing metropolitan county depends

on RCC to rehabilitate an aging dam and restore
the focal point of a prominent park.
The Yellow River Watershed Dam No. 17 (Y-17) is located

approximately 30 miles (48 kilometers) northeast of
Atlanta, Georgia. The dam is part of a 92 acre (37.2
hectare) facility owned and operated by the Gwinnett Aerial view of the Y-17 dam and downstream
County Department of Parks and Recreation. reach prior to rehabilitation.
For more than a decade Gwinnett County has been one of

the fastest growing counties in metropolitan Atlanta. As a
result of this rapid development, the Y-17 structure which
was originally constructed to protect rural pasture and
farmland now protects recently constructed subdivisions,
apartment complexes, office parks, retail businesses, and a
high school located downstream of the dam. This develop-
ment caused the classification of the dam to change from
low hazard to high hazard.
The Y-17 structure consists of an earthen embankment

dam approximately 30 ft (9.1 m) high and 900 ft (274 m)
long. Studies of the Y-17 structure determined that the
existing 200 feet (61 m) wide vegetated earthen spillway
was inadequate for the design flows. An options assess-
ment determined that the most cost effective solution was Completion of the RCC stilling basin and construction
to armor the entire downstream slope and abutments of of the RCC spillway steps and sidewalls.
the dam with roller-compacted concrete (RCC).
The RCC forms a spillway approximately 550 ft (168 m)

wide that overtops the dam and allows the existing earth-
en spillway to be abandoned. The spillway is asymmetric
and designed to correspond with the varying topography
along the downstream abutments. The crest has three
stages to control flow over the spillway and to provide
flood protection during more frequent storm events, with
the lowest stage crest elevation corresponding to the crest
of the existing earthen auxiliary spillway. The spillway crest
was designed to maintain peak stage during the 1/3 PMP
design storm below the existing dam crest. To prevent
dam overtopping during the PMP design storm, the spill- Placement of earthfill over the
way sidewalls extend an additional 4 feet (1.2 m) above completed RCC spillway.
Aesthetics Play Key Role in Dam Rehabilitation
spillway were covered with earthfill and vegetated to hide

the RCC. The crest and crest sidewalls are still exposed. The
spillway activates for storms at or less than a 25 year fre-
quency. As a result, earthfill covering the RCC may erode
during these storms requiring some future maintenance.
Vital Statistics
Remediation Features
Maximum height of embankment. . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 ft (9.1 m)
Overall length of dam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 900 ft (274 m)
Width of RCC spillway crest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 524 ft (160 m)
Completed project with grass
covered downstream slope. Height of RCC spillway steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 in (300 cm)
Width of RCC steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 ft (2.7 m)
Slope of chute steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3H:1V
the original dam crest and an earthen berm was construct- Slope of training wall steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3H:1V
ed up to the PMP design storm peak stage in the existing
auxiliary spillway. RCC Mix Design
Type I/II Portland cement. . . . . . . . . . . . 250 lbs/yd3 (148 kg/m3)
Construction began in October 2004 and was completed Class F fly ash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 lbs/yd3 (47.5 kg/m3)
by early April 2005. The total project cost was $2.1 mil- Graded Road Base Aggregate
lion. Approximately 65% of the funding for the project (1-1/2 in. (37.5 mm) MSA) . . . . . . . 3,488 lbs/yd3 (2,069 kg/m3)
was provided by the National Resource Conservation Moisture Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.5%
Service (NRCS) Watershed Rehabilitation Program since Specified Comp. Str. @ 28 days . . . . . . . . 2,250 psi (15.5 MPa)
the structure was originally constructed by them. ASI RCC,
Inc. was awarded the job at a cost of $1.46 million with
an in-place RCC cost of $110 per yd3 ($143.87 per m3) Credits
for approximately 6,700 yd3 (5,123 m3) of RCC.
Owner/Construction Manager: Gwinnett County, Georgia
Early in construction, thick deposits of alluvial soils
Federal Sponsor: Natural Resources Conservation Service
with high liquid limits and very low shear strength were
identified along the downstream toe of the existing Designer: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah District
embankment. This discovery necessitated the removal Resident Engineer/QA Testing: Golder Associates Inc.,
of more than 8,000 yd3 (6,116 m3) of additional soil. Atlanta. Georgia
A re-design of the RCC spillway stilling basin was carried
RCC Mix Design: Schnabel Engineering Associates, Inc.,
out after removal of the unsuitable material to correspond
Atlanta, Georgia
with the newly excavated site topography. The re-design
resulted in an additional 900 yd3 (688 m3) of RCC. RCC Contractor: ASI RCC, Inc., Buena Vista, Colorado
placement began in mid December 2004 and was com-
pleted in early February 2005.
The RCC design compressive strength was 2,250 psi

(15.5 MPa) at 28-days. The average compressive strengths
of RCC cylinders molded per ASTM C 1435 were 2,300 psi
(15.9 MPa), 3,400 psi (23.4 MPa), and 3,550 psi (24.5
MPa) at 28, 60, and 90 days, respectively.
The completed RCC spillway safely routes approximately

18,950 cfs (537 m3/sec.) through the Y-17 watershed An organization of cement companies to improve
during the PMP design storm. Since the structure is located and extend the uses of portland cement and concrete
through market development, engineering, research,
in a prominent park, the downstream slopes of the RCC education, and public affairs work.
© 2005 Portland Cement Association PL462

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WATER RESOURCES

Aesthetics Play Key Role in

A rapidly growing metropolitan county depends

The Yellow River Watershed Dam No. 17 (Y-17) is located

For more than a decade Gwinnett County has been one of

The Y-17 structure consists of an earthen embankment

The RCC forms a spillway approximately 550 ft (168 m)

spillway were covered with earthfill and vegetated to hide

The RCC design compressive strength was 2,250 psi

The completed RCC spillway safely routes approximately

© 2005 Portland Cement Association PL462

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