Certerra Subsurface
Dam Integrity Assessment

Seeing Inside Your Critical Infrastructure

We use non-invasive geophysical methods, including electrical resistivity, seismic, and electromagnetics to image dam internal structure, map seepage and piping risks, and monitor changes over time. These insights reveal hidden vulnerabilities in aging earthen dams before they lead to failures.

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Dam Integrity Assessment

Providing the View Inside

We apply non-invasive geophysical methods, principally electrical resistivity, seismic, and streaming-potential (SP), to look inside earthen dams. Electrical resistivity maps moisture and saturation; identifying changes in saturation associated with seepage for example. Seismic refraction and MASW survey the propagation of sound waves; seismic velocity variations reveal changes in density and stiffness, flagging weak or anomalous zones. SP techniques detect natural electrical potentials driven by subsurface fluid flow, highlighting seepage pathways. By repeating these measurements over time, we can track internal changes due to seepage, erosion, or saturation–enabling early detection of integrity risks.

Technician installs geophysical sensor during Dam integrity assessment, collecting subsurface data to detect seepage pathways, internal erosion zones, and structural weaknesses affecting long-term dam stability and safety.
Dam Integrity Assessment

Understanding the Internal Structural Issues

Our geophysical dam integrity assessment tackles the hidden, high-risk issues of earthen structures, seepage, internal erosion, and piping, that often go undetected until failure. Traditional inspection methods struggle to image internal moisture pathways or detect weakening zones, but our non-invasive geophysical techniques reveal saturation anomalies, preferential flow channels, and structural weaknesses before they breach. Repeated monitoring over time flags changes in saturation or stiffness, giving early warning of deterioration and enabling proactive mitigation, minimizing risk to downstream communities.

Dam Integrity Assessment

Geophysical Methods for Dam Integrity

We use multiple geophysical methods to assess dam integrity and detect subsurface vulnerabilities. These non-invasive techniques image internal structure, map seepage pathways, identify weak zones, and monitor changes over time, providing the comprehensive data you need to evaluate structural stability, prioritize maintenance, and protect downstream communities.

Electrical Resistivity

Electrical resistivity measures variations in subsurface electrical properties to reveal differences in material composition.

Seismic

Seismic methods measure the travel of acoustic waves through the ground to characterize subsurface materials and structure.

Electromagnetic

Electromagnetic methods measure variations in the conductivity of materials to identify subsurface property differences.

Dam Integrity Assessment

FAQs for Dam Integrity Assessment

Learn how geophysical methods assess dam integrity, why they matter for safety and compliance, and how our techniques help engineers, regulators, and asset managers detect vulnerabilities, monitor changes, and make informed decisions to protect critical infrastructure.

Dam integrity assessment is a geophysical evaluation of a dam’s internal structure to detect seepage, erosion, and other hidden vulnerabilities.

Geophysical techniques are non-invasive, provide continuous spatial imaging across the entire dam structure, and detect internal anomalies that visual inspections or discrete point measurements cannot reveal. This comprehensive approach identifies hidden vulnerabilities before they compromise dam integrity.

Methods like electrical resistivity, seismic surveys, and streaming potential map moisture, density, and fluid flow to reveal seepage pathways and internal erosion.

Geophysical assessments can find abnormal saturation zones, internal erosion (piping), structural weakening, and preferential flow paths inside dam embankments.

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