Dams & Hydro
Dam and hydro seismic monitoring
Know what the dam experienced against its design basis the moment trigger levels are exceeded, so your Emergency Action Plan starts on measured data, not assumption.
Trusted on critical assets
An event starts a process. Give it data to start on.
When an earthquake exceeds your trigger levels, your Emergency Action Plan is already in motion: inspect, decide on reservoir restriction or drawdown, report against your consequence category. The question is whether that process begins with a measured record or with an assumption held until someone reaches the crest.
Canterbury Seismic instruments record what the structure actually experienced at the crest, the foundation and free-field, on one synchronised clock, so you can compare peak accelerations against the design basis the dam was assessed to. Configurable PGA thresholds, set in your own labels, drive email and SMS alerts and dry-contact relays into your control system the moment they are exceeded. The record is the defensible evidence a dam safety review asks for.
Flexible dam instrumentation
Start with a base level budget and instrumentation plan and expand as needs and budgets grow.
Start: two instruments. One on the crest, one on the foundation on bedrock. Establishes what the dam experienced against free-field and design basis. A legitimate system for smaller and tailings dams.
Standard: four measuring points. Foundation, crest, one abutment, and a free-field station at roughly three to four times the dam height. This is the industry-recognised minimum for dam seismic instrumentation, consistent with international dam-safety guidance and common practice.
Extended: full array. Add the second abutment, mid-crest, dam body and gallery. One EQR-C central recorder coordinates up to 16 sensors into a single synchronised array-wide record, fuses crest and joint displacement (LVDT) and site weather onto the same clock, applies weighted trigger voting, and relays into operations.
Right-sized protection. Instruments are IP54 as standard for gallery and plant-room mounting, with an IP65 enclosure where the location is wet or exposed. You specify protection to the site, and pay for the rating the location needs.
Proven on hydro and tailings dams
Our instruments run on hydro and tailings dams, integrated with owners' own response plans, and captured record ground motion in a major earthquake sequence. Solar installs are proven on remote tailings dams. Supplied, installed and commissioned across New Zealand and Australia by the team that builds the hardware.
Why Canterbury Seismic is the right seismic and structural monitoring partner.
Modular seismic monitoring, configured to your site.
Your data, in your systems
Every instrument records raw time-series acceleration and outputs MiniSEED, CSV and a programmatic HTTPS API, with SeedLink streaming and dry-contact relays into your SCADA or PLC. The web interface is the console, so there is no separate software licence or subscription to run it. Feed the record into your existing dam-monitoring and control systems, or hand it to your engineer's own analysis tools. If you specify instrumentation as a consultant, we supply the measurement layer for your analysis. Your data stays yours.
Talk to us about your dam
Tell us the dam, its consequence category and the response plan it sits in. We will scope the instrumentation to the questions your dam safety review asks.
Dam seismic monitoring questions
How many accelerographs does a dam need?
Two is a workable start: one on the crest and one on the foundation. The recognised standard is four measuring points (foundation, crest, an abutment, and a free-field station). Higher-consequence dams extend to a full array of up to 16 sensors coordinated by one EQR-C central recorder.
Where are the sensors placed on a dam?
At the points that show how the structure responded: the foundation, the crest, at least one abutment, and a free-field station roughly three to four times the dam height away. Extended arrays add the second abutment, mid-crest, the dam body and the gallery.
Does it alert automatically when the design basis is exceeded?
Yes. Configurable PGA thresholds, set in your own labels, trigger email and SMS alerts and dry-contact relays the moment measured ground motion exceeds them. Your Emergency Action Plan or TARP starts on a measured value, not on a manual reading.
Do we need separate software or a subscription to run it?
No. The instrument's web interface is the operating console: configuration, live data, diagnostics and event downloads, with no external software licence or subscription to buy. Some vendors sell the analysis software and its subscription separately; this does not.
Will it integrate with our existing dam-monitoring and SCADA systems?
Yes. Each instrument records raw time-series acceleration and outputs MiniSEED, CSV and a programmatic HTTPS API, with dry-contact relays into SCADA or PLC. If you are a consultant who specifies instrumentation, we supply the measurement layer for your analysis, not a competing service.
Has the instrument recorded real earthquakes?
Yes. Canterbury Seismic instruments have captured strong ground motion through a major earthquake sequence and run continuously on operating dams.