spillway and type of spillway
SPILLWAY A spillway is a structure used to provide the controlled release of flows from a dam or levee into a downstream area, typically the riverbed of the dammed river itself. Spillways ensure that the water does not overflow and damage or destroy the dam . How Do Spillways Work? We normally build a dam to hold water back and store it for use in water supply, irrigation, hydropower, or flood control. But sometimes we have to let some water go. Whether we need it downstream or the impounded water behind the dam is simply too full to store any more, nearly every dam needs a spillway to safely discharge water. In fact, some of the worst human-caused disasters in history have been failures of dams. For this reason, they’re often required to withstand the biggest storm that we could possibly conceive, called the Probable Maximum Flood. I...