THE ROLE OF MONITORING IN THE REHABILITATION OF PLAVINAS HPP, LATVIA

R. Peter Brenner1 and Richard Guim nd1 !uha Laa" nen# !uer$ S%eer&i' ()intar" O"tanie*ic"+ ABSTRA,T The Plavinas hydro-electric powerplant in Latvia is located within a complex hydro-geologic environment. The powerhouse/spillway structure is founded on a buried valley, filled with glacial till and having pressurized a uifers on its flan!s. Pressure and seepage control is by means of drainage blan!ets and wells in the foundation and relief wells on the downstream right ban!. " large number of piezometers monitors the pressure in the various stratigraphic units. #or the design of a reserve spillway re uired to ensure safety against flood events, the existence of highly pressured zones at the contact of the till with the pressurized a uifers on the slope of the buried valley was an important geological consideration. $ydro-geological investigations revealed that these zones are hydraulically connected. The stilling basin of the reserve spillway will be close to the buried valley but construction activities must not interfere with pressurized strata. %eal-time monitoring of piezometric heads by means of an automatic data ac uisition system will be used as a tool to ensure safety during construction activities. INTRO(-,TION The Plavinas powerplant is the uppermost hydro-electric station of the &augava hydrocascade in Latvia. 't is located near the town of "iz!rau!le, some () !m east of the capital city of %iga and about *)+ !m upstream from the river,s estuary. -ith its presently ./..0 1- of installed capacity and a maximum gross head of 2) m, it is also the largest of the three powerplants forming the cascade. 't was designed by 'nstitute $ydropro3ect, 1oscow, and commissioned in *(//. The scheme consists of a *4.4 m long, right wing emban!ment dam, a *0. m long concrete section consisting of the powerhouse with the spillway discharging over it, the main hydraulic fill dam of /+0 m in length, built across the present river channel, and a left wing emban!ment dam, *.(4 m long, as illustrated in #ig. *. The main dam and both wing emban!ment dams are founded on dolomite roc!, which is partly !arstic, whereas the powerhouse-spillway structure, consisting of two ad3acent bloc!s separated by a vertical 3oint, is situated on a deep buried pre-glacial valley filled mainly with glacial and fluvioglacial deposits. GEOLOGI,AL AN( H.(RO/GEOLOGI,AL SETTING AN( ,ON,ERNS Strati$ra%h0 The powerhouse-spillway structure is the principal component of the scheme. $owever, its design and later its performance have been strongly affected by the difficult foundation conditions and the regional hydro-geological setting. The Plavinas site lies in the 5altic artesian basin. The &augava river in the Plavinas area represents a low regional drainage *

system. The subsurface conditions consist of a series of sedimentary roc! strata of 1iddle to 6pper &evonian age, covered by 7uaternary deposits 8#ig. 49. :ome of these strata are confined a uifers and are under artesian pressure. The thic!ness of the sedimentary complex can reach up to about ;)) m. The &evonian series is predominantly sub-horizontal and includes sandstones of the "uri!ula-5urtnie!u and the <au3a-"mata stratigraphic units and dolomite roc!s of the Plavinas-&augava complex. " simplified listing of the stratigraphy is given in Table *.

#ig. * Layout of Plavinas dam and location of reserve spillway The sandstone and dolomite layers are relatively pervious and act as a uifers. They are interspersed with silty-clayey deposits acting as a uicludes. The materials filling the pre-7uaternary buried valley are predominantly tills, with fluvioglacial deposits on top. The texture of the till is mostly clayey sand, typically having the following fractions= clay *2-*+ >, silt ;) >, sand 20-0) > and gravel +-*) >. The %ussian designer termed the more sandy till as sandy loam and the more clayey variety as loam. These materials are fairly impervious, but there are also more pervious zones with lenses of gravel and also pebbles. ?@ntrainedA bedroc! material lines the slopes of the buried valley. 'n the Latvian language this material is termed as ?BleifA which has been translated as ?TrainA. This material, scoured from the valley flan!s by the glacier and/ bro!en off from higher elevations, was dragged along the valley and consists mainly of gravel and roc! fragments. 't is highly pervious and may serve as a hydraulic lin! between a uifers 8&islere, 4))/9. The &evonian roc!s along the buried valley are fissured and crac!ed, particularly the sandstones of the "mata formation are believed to contain numerous vertical discontinuities. :ome of these may originate from stress release when the valley was eroded. F undati n "ee%a$e c ntr &

The prevailing hydro-geologic regime in the Plavinas area was a decisive design consideration in the realization of the powerhouse. To ensure the stability of this structure, comprehensive measures in seepage and pressure control had to be provided, namely 8see also -ieland et al., 4))/9= Connected with the powerhouse structure= an upstream apron with drainage, a multilayer filter blan!et and drainage wells below the foundation slab, and a downstream apron with drainage blan!et and relief holes Dn the downstream right ban!= a large number of relief wells, arranged in several rows to drain the "mata sandstone and a drainage gallery in the Plavinas dolomite.

#ig. 4 <eological section through buried valley along the dam axis Table *
"ge 7uaternary to %ecent 6pper &evonian 6pper &evonian 6pper &evonian 6pper &evonian 6pper &evonian 1iddle &evonian :tratigraphy 8designation9 al-74 E f-7; gl-74 &augava 8&;dg9 :alaspils 8&;slp9 Plavinas 8&;pl9 6pper "mata Lower "mata 8&;amt9 <au3a 8&;g39 5urtnie!u 8&4br9

:tratigraphic units at Plavinas dam site

Type of material %iver alluvium with gravel and pebbles <lacial till of variable composition &olomite, ?dolostonesA &olostones and dolomitic marls &olostones, dolomitic marls, carbonate clays, and silts :andstones, wea!ly cemented, with intercalations of sand and clay :andstone, wea!ly cemented :andstones and siltstones "pproximate thic!ness 8m9 more than *)) m in buried valley *) to *0 *) to *; 4* to ;4 *+-4+ 0) F /)

The discharge of the relief wells varies widely. :ome of them have to be pumped while others are free flowing. :ome wells also e3ect sand. &ifferent types of well screen designs were employed. 6sually, they consisted of a wire-wound steel bar s!eleton covered by a slotted steel pipe or a wire mesh, embedded in a gravel pac!. "bundant presence of mica particles tends to clog the gravel pac! in the vicinity of the screens thus re uiring re-development and, after some years, even re-construction. The locations of the relief wells on the right ban! and of piezometers on both the right and the left ban! are shown in #ig. ;. 'n addition, a large number of piezometers are installed below the powerhouse. The control of the uplift pressure through drainage and relieving is critical for the stability of the powerhouse. There is an upward trending flow of the groundwater within the pervious and across the impervious sediments. -ithin the rather impervious morainic soils filling the buried valley, very high upward hydraulic gradients exist for the continuity of the groundwater flow. The gradients are higher in the clayey silty, less pervious variety of the morainic soil. Garious incidents have occurred in the powerhouse foundation. These were briefly described by -ieland et al. 84))/9. H0dr /$e & $ica& "in$u&aritie" The total discharge of the relief wells on the right ban! amounts to about */) liters/s. Df particular interest is a cluster of three wells which are rather close, i.e. about 0) to /) m from the downstream edge of the powerhouse 8see #ig. ;9. These wells 8*4)*, *44* E *;)49 have a very high yield, i.e. about /)> of the total discharge. They have been termed the $igh Hield -ells 8$H-9. The reason for the high discharge of these wells is not clear but it is believed that these wells are in contact with a larger fracture in the "mata sandstone providing a hydraulic connection with deeper a uifers. The filter screens of two of these wells are in the Train material, while the screen of the third well is in the "mata sandstone. These three wells can be considered as a singularity of the right ban! relieving system. "ctually, some years ago an incident similar to a blowout occurred in the vicinity of these wells. 'nterestingly, another singular point was found unexpectedly some *.+ !m downstream in a small tributary valley drained by the Lauce river when on Ianuary /, *(((, a borehole was advanced in combination with a cone penetration test 8CPT-/9 in the undisturbed morainic soil 8see #ig. 29. This test was intended to serve as a reference to the soundings that were performed below the powerhouse. " second borehole, e uipped with J *2/ mm casing, was drilled right next to it for the purpose of soil sampling. -hen the drilling of this borehole, CPT-/5, had reached @lev. -4*.. m, sampling was no longer possible because the soil was loose with sand and dolomite fragments. " blowout of CPT-/ occurred on Ianuary *(, *(((, accompanied by large uantities of coarse sand and gravel. The discharge was estimated to be about 20 liters/s. This discharge had an effect on the $igh Hield -ells. Their cumulative discharge decreased from (4 liters/s to .. liters/s in the period Ianuary *( to 4), *(((. 5orehole CPT-/ was then plugged between Ianuary 4+ and #ebruary **, *(((. :tarting from #ebruary ;, the discharge of the $H- increased again. :imilarly, the blowout also affected the left ban! and decreased the piezometric levels. The greatest drop was noticed for the two piezometers with their tip in the <au3a formation. 't reached *.( m in the vicinity of the powerhouse 8piezometer Pz ;*)*9 and ).0 m some +) m away from the powerhouse 8Pz ;*)49. The piezometric levels in the "mata formation also decreased by 4 m in Pz ;;)* and by ;.+ m in Pz ;;)4. &rops of around one meter could even be observed in some of the piezometers in the moraine. $ence, the conclusion from this

observation was that there must be a connection between all these wells and piezometers and that there must be some short-circuit through some very pervious channels. @xploration hole CPT-/5 was plugged later and two new boring were made and transformed into relief wells, namely 0/)4 and 0/);.

#ig. ; Locations of piezometers and relief wells in the downstream area M nit rin$ a" a t & t under"tand the "u1"ur2ace 2& 3 re$ime

'n order to obtain a better insight into the hydraulic connections between the wells and piezometers, a series of relief tests was carried out with the Lauce wells. 1eanwhile, the response of the wells and piezometers could be monitored in real time by means of an automatic data ac uisition system 8"&":9 whose installation was completed in 4))*. :uch a system is invaluable in the management of a large number of sensors. "n "&": is able to read, uantify, and convert physical information continuously, periodically or on re uest and transmit it to a remote data processing system thus enabling on-line monitoring of relatively rapidly changing sensor values. The system of data transfer at the Plavinas powerplant is illustrated in #ig. 0 and comprises *0 data loggers with ;4 remote multiplexers and a system of nine computers which includes four ac uisition computers, four wor!stations and one server for real time data processing 8Popiels!i et al, 4))*9. 'nstrumentation at the Plavinas powerplant now contains more than one thousand measuring points. Dut of these, initially 2;) were selected for replacement by automatic devices. Particularly, sensors for pressure and flow monitoring were given first priority in the incorporation into the "&":.

The ground elevation at the two Lauce wells 80/)4 E 0/);9 is around ;. m asl. The wells pass through + to . m of gravel with roc! fragments and sand, followed by some 0) m of morainic material, i.e. sandy loam and loam with inclusions of gravel and roc! fragments. "t a depth of about 0( m 8approx. elev. -4) m asl9, the holes encountered highly pervious entrained material 8gravel and sandstone fragments9 identified as entrained material. -ell 0/)4 penetrates this Train layer by about *; m 8i.e. to @lev. -;;.0 m asl9 while well 0/); ends at @lev. -4;.* m asl with about 4 m in the Train material. The bedroc! was not reached in any of these holes.

#ig. 2 1ap showing the locations of the Lauce wells, the $igh Hield -ells, the boundaries of the buried valley and the axis of the proposed reserve spillway with the stilling basin. %elieving tests carried out during :eptember ( to 4/, 4))*, discharged a total of *4) liters/s 8+) liters/s from well 0/); and 0) liters/s from well 0/)49. The outflow remained closed during the night and wee!ends. :elected piezometers representing different subsurface strata close to the powerhouse on both the right and left ban!, and as well the three $igh Hield -ells, were monitored by the "&":. #igure / shows the response of the three $igh Hield -ells on the right ban! to the relieving of the two Lauce wells and #ig. + presents the response of piezometers in the 6pper "mata on the left ban!. The graphs clearly demonstrate the effects of the discharges at the Lauce wells at a distance of *.0 to *.+ !m from the monitored sensors. "lso shown in the graphs is the variation of the reservoir water level which varies wee!ly between about +).0 and +4 m asl. These reservoir level fluctuations are imprinted on the variation of the well discharges and the piezometric heads. &uring the period from :eptember *+ to 4*, the total discharge from the $igh Hield -ells decreased by 2.. liters/s, which includes the effect of the lower reservoir level. #rom :eptember *+ to 40, the piezometric level dropped by about )./ to ).( m.

RESERVE SPILL4A. F undati n" c nditi n" The reserve spillway is a ma3or component in the overall rehabilitation of the powerplant. 'ts main purpose is to correct the inade uate flood discharge capacity of the existing spillway to satisfy modern P1# criteria. 't is a gated structure with four bays and has a design discharge capacity of about 2))) m;/s. The ogee crest is at elevation 0..*) m asl. The location on the right hand emban!ment dam was selected among five other locations because it has the least interference with existing structures, utilities in the ground or drainage facilities in the vicinity of the power plant and as well with settlements in the downstream area or private land plots. The position of the axis of the reserve spillway is indicated in #igs. * and 0. 1ost of the structure is founded on the dense and impervious glacial till 8moraine9. Dnly the stilling basin at river level is founded on Plavinas dolomite roc!. The ground elevation at the river shore line is about ;; m asl while the top of the bedroc! is at 4+ m asl.

#ig. 0 Components of the automatic data ac uisition system 8"&":9 H0dr /$e & $ic c ncern" and m nit rin$ " ma3or geologic concern is, that the extension of the spillway axis intersects the buried valley not far from the end of the stilling basin 8see #ig. 29. The exact position of the rim of the buried valley is not !nown and will have to be explored by additional borings. $owever, at this location the shoreline of the present river bed and the rim of the buried valley almost coincide. The response of a possible interference with the buried valley during construction or during operation of the spillway must be predictable from the present !nowledge supplemented by additional investigations. There are no deep drillholes in the immediate vicinity of the planned reserve spillway. The closest investigations in the buried valley were carried out along a section which lies on the left ban! of the present river channel. The section contains five boreholes 85$-* to 5$-09. " sixth borehole, 5$-/, was drilled next to the shoreline and is about 0)) m from the stilling basin and positioned almost exactly on the extension of the spillway axis. "ll six holes were drilled to reach bedroc!. The purpose for drilling these holes was to find locations with entrained materials below the moraine which would be under high pressure similar to the wells found in the Lauce valley. @xcept for borehole no. ;, which exhibited material similar to

entrained material within the depth range *;).) to *;+./ 8@lev. -(;.0 to -*)*.*9, there were no traces of entrained material in the other holes 8i.e. 5$-*, 5$-4, 5$-2 and 5$-09.

#ig. / %esponse of the $igh Hield -ells to relieving the Lauce wells

#ig. + %esponse of piezometers in the 6pper "mata on the left ban! 8in the vicinity of the powerhouse9 to relieving the Lauce wells

5orehole 5$-/ was drilled on the basis of geophysical investigations 8vertical and symmetric electric profiling and as well gravimetric surveying9. @lectric profiling was carried out to a depth of about /0 m which is believed to be the elevation of entrained materials. The area containing the wells in the Lauce valley exhibited a low resistivity and the water from these wells had a conductivity which was two to three times higher than the bac!ground values. $ence, prospecting for entrained material zones had to focus on the identification of zones of low resistance. 5orehole 5$-/ is on the right hand slope of the buried valley. The hole was drilled to a depth of *;* m 8@lev. -(/.* m asl9, i.e. until bedroc! was encountered. @ntrained material which was under pressure was found between the glacial till and roc!s belonging to the 1iddle &evonian 5urtnie!u formation, which is below the <au3a formation at a depth reaching from (+./ to **/ m below ground level. :ubse uently, borehole 5$-/ was e uipped for conducting relieving tests. The filter was installed in the depth interval of *** to *4) m, i.e. in the lower part of the entrained material and partly in the upper range of the 5urtnie!u roc!. The pressure was, however, not as high as expectedK the piezometric head was only about 44 m. The discharge from this borehole amounted to *(./ liters/s. The investigations in the buried valley have demonstrated that the occurrence of entrained material is not persistent, also its thic!ness may vary. $igh pressures are expected to exist where the material overlies the <au3a formation or "mata connecting to <au3a through discontinuities. 1ost of the entrained material may be present on the slopes of the buried valley, but it is conceivable that there are also accumulations at the valley bottom. These may be hard to detect by geophysical means because of the influence of the slopes on the measurements. " further borehole, 5$-*;4+, was drilled in 4))0 about 4)) m from the stilling basin of the planned reserve spillway. This is the nearest hole in the stilling basin area drilled to "mata level and it is close to the rim of the buried valley. This drill location was, however, not based on geophysical investigations and the purpose of this hole is not clear. The top of the "mata formation in this borehole is at @l. *+./0 m asl, i.e. about ( m below the base of the stilling basin. There is a clayey stratum of about ; m thic!ness separating the Plavinas dolomite from the "mata sandstone. The pressure encountered in the "mata roc! of borehole 5$-*;4+ was about ).4 1Pa, i.e. the piezometric level rises to about @l. L2) m asl, which is higher than the tailwater level. #urther drillholes are, however, needed to establish a reliable pressure profile in the area of the stilling basin. :ome of the piezometers could then be connected to the "&":, at least temporarily during the period of construction. Mot all boreholes drilled into the "mata will encounter pressurized water. Dnly when drilling into highly pervious material between the base of the impervious moraine and the roc! with artesian water will this occur. :uch locations do not seem to be fre uent because inspite of the large number of boreholes drilled in the area, only very few have encountered such conditions. Therefore, exploration drilling to better define the rim of the buried valley along the extension of the spillway axis may not find such conditions. #rom the relieving tests carried out with the Lauce wells, it is expected that even if a high pressure zone were encountered during further exploration or during construction wor!, its impact on the pressures in the foundation of the powerplant would not exceed a decrease in piezometric head of one to two meters. :till, precautionary measures are re uired when constructing the stilling basin of the reserve spillway. The contractor who installed the new instruments below the powerhouse, which re uired drilling through the drainage blan!et used

&osapro 8or pinch9 valves, which are able to control pressures up to four bars. 8Popiels!i et al., 4))*9. ,ON,L-SIONS The Plavinas powerplant is located in a complex and uni ue hydro-geological environment, involving pressurized subsurface strata in its foundation. To ensure the stability of the powerhouse, changing of the prevailing regime of pore water pressures and uplift pressures must be avoided when rehabilitating the facility or when adding new components to the system. Comprehensive site investigation, installation of piezometers and possibly also relief wells with real-time monitoring by means of an "&": can reduce uncertainties and minimize ris!s related to the hydrologic response to construction activities and to the impact induced by the operation of a new facility. The paper illustrates how field investigations in combination with monitoring can improve the understanding of the subsurface conditions and the ris! involved when a new facility 8in this case a reserve spillway9 is added to the powerplant system. 't facilitates the planning of additional investigations and predicting the response of the hydro-geologic regime to construction activities and operational impact. 'f significant changes in the pressure regime below the powerhouse are predicted, countermeasures can be invo!ed during the design phase to minimize or preferably avoid adverse situations. REFEREN,ES &islere, :. 1onitoring as a tool of dam safety improvement at Plavinas $PP. 'n= Dams and Reservoirs, Societies and Environment in the 21st Century, L.5erga et al., eds., Gol.*, /**/*+, Taylor E #rancis 84))/9. Popiels!i, "., %ollet, 1., 5olmanis, ". and :ulcs, 6. 6pgrading the instrumentation system at Plavinas, Latvia. Hydropower & Dams, Gol. ., no. ;, .0-./ 84))*9. -ieland, 1., 5renner, %.P., :peerli, I., Dstanievics, &. and 5olmanis, ". :afety evaluation of the Plavinas run of river scheme in Latvia. Transactions 22nd Int. Con ress on !ar e Dams, 5arcelona, 7../, %.+4, Gol. ;, **.(-*4)( 84));9.. NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
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POyry @nergy Ltd., $ardturmstrasse */*, C$-.);+ Purich, :witzerland 6niversity of "pplied :ciences, Dberseestrasse *), C$-./2) %apperswil, :witzerland ; #ortum Power E $eat Dy, P.D. 5ox *, #'-)))2. #ortum, #inland 2 Latvenergo Ioint :toc! Company, Pul!veza 5rieza :treet *4, LG-*4;) %iga, Latvia

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