India ranks third in the world after China and the United States in terms of number of dams. Over the last 60 years, India has invested substantially in infrastructure necessary to store surface runoff in reservoirs formed by dams and now has about 4,900 large dams and about 300 under construction. In addition, there are several thousand smaller dams. All dams have played a key role in fostering rapid and sustained agricultural and rural growth and development. However, many of large dams are aging and facing challenges such as:

• structural and mechanical defects due to aging;
• absence of robust seismic event response system;
• sediment management;
• lack of automated real time dam monitoring system; and
• lack of institutional capacity within the agencies responsible for operation and maintenance of the dams.

As a part of the World Bank’s Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP) which is jointly being implemented by Central Water Commission (CWC) and 9 state government agencies, 5 international study tours to Japan were organized in collaboration with the Japan Water Agency (JWA). The study tours of the Indian delegates to Japan were supported through technical assistance of the Japan-World Bank Program. The main objective of these study tours were exchange of knowledge from the Japanese experiences of dam safety management, including advanced technology for integrated water resource management, sedimentation management, and seismic event response system. A total of 41 delegates, including senior decision-makers and field engineers from the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation (MoWR, RD & GR), CWC and 9 states government agencies, have visited Japan through these exposure visits.

Overview of the Exposure Visits

1st Visit: June 15-18, 2015

• Key focus on knowledge exchange on seismic hazards and financial and regulatory arrangements related to dam safety management in Japan
• Meetings with Director General, Water Resources Department of MLIT and JWA Officials
• Visit to Takizawa Dam and Urayama Dam
• Participated organizations from India: CWC, MoWR

2nd Visit: September 28 - October 1, 2015

• Key focus on knowledge exchange on seismic hazards and institutional arrangements related to dam safety management in Japan
• Meeting with JWA officials
• Visit to Naramata Dam and Yagisawa Dam
• Participated organizations from India: CWC, Water Resource Departments of Odisha and Kerala States, Irrigation Department of the State of Haryana

3rd Visit: November 23-27, 2015

• Key focus on knowledge exchange on seismic hazards, sedimentation, and institutional arrangements related to dam safety management in Japan
• Meeting with JWA Experts
• Visited to Miwa Dam, Koshibu Dam and Shimokudo Dam
• Participated organizations from India: CWC, MoWR, Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO), Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB)

4th Visit: March 8-11, 2016

• Key focus on knowledge exchange on seismic hazards, sedimentation, early warning system and institutional arrangements related to dam safety management in Japan
• Meeting with JWA Officials
• Round table on Dam Safety and Management at the DRM Hub, Tokyo Office
• Visit to Takizawa Dam and Urayama Dam
• Participated organizations from India: CWC, Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited (UJVN ltd), Water Resource Department of the State of  Karnatak

5th Visit: May 23-27, 2016

• Key focus on knowledge exchange on seismic hazards, sedimentation, early warning system and institutional arrangements related to dam safety management in Japan
• Meeting with JWA Officials
• Visit to Agigawa Dam and Makio Dam
• Participated organizations from India: CWC, Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC), Water Resource Department of the State of Madhaya Pradesh,  Water Resource Department of the State of Tamil Nadu

6th Visit: October 3-7, 2016

• Key focus on knowledge exchange on seismic hazards, sedimentation, early warning system and institutional arrangements related to dam safety management in Japan
• Meeting with JWA Officials
• Visit to Urayama Dam and Takizawa Dam
• Participated organizations from India: CWC, Indian Institute of Science Bangalore (IISc, Bangalore), Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras), Anna University,  National Institute of Technology Calicut (NIT Calicut), National Institute of Technology Rourkela  (NIT Rourkela), Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology Allahabad (MNNIT Allahabad)

Indian delegates came away with served lessons from Japan’s experience:

• Robust seismic surveillance program;
• Practical aspects of forewarning of catastrophic events including earthquake early warning system (EWS), and emergency response;
• Standard operation procedure (SOP) at dams for seismic events;
• Operation & Maintenance capabilities;
• Automation of dam monitoring system;
• Higher factor of safety in new dam construction;
• Routine/ Extraordinary/ Periodic/ Comprehensive Inspections;
• Sediment management methods;
• People inclusive approach.

The CWC, in the long run, has expressed the desire for developing further technical collaboration with Japanese experts related to Dam Safety and Management with specific focus on:

• earthquake early warning system;
• seismic event response system; and
• sediment management.

Based on a partnership and working relationship established between CWC and JWA through the exposure visits, JWA is providing technical assistance for developing an earthquake response and inspection manual for Ichari Dam in the seismic prone Himalayan region of India. Once this is completed, CWC aims to replicate the same for the nearly 250 dams in DRIP project.

Related

World Bank: India Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project

https://www.worldbank.org/projects/P089985/dam-rehabilitation-improvement-project?lang=en

Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP)

https://www.damsafety.in/index.php?lang=en&page=home&origin=front-end