This week, we’re discussing canal lining and construction. Building a canal for a dam is extremely important because canals must be able to “withstand enormous water pressure,” must be “watertight so that they will not leak,” and must “be able to offer protection from the risk of erosion caused by the flowing water.”¹

Building a canal consists of levelling and compacting the bottom of the canal, or lining it. “A filter layer consisting of sand and gravel is then put in place and, on top of that, a sealing layer of fine soil, cement or asphalt.”¹

Sources

Photos courtesy of PG 94 (Army Corps of Engineers Dam Construction Photographs).