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<br />Santa Maria ReservOir. my <br />October 28, 1993 <br />Page - 3 <br /> <br />.. <br /> <br />. Seepage found 82 feet from the spillway and 47 feet below the dam <br />crest. <br /> <br />. A second 47 feet below the dam crest and 162 feet from the spillway. <br /> <br />. Seepage found in 1993 near the left abutment at elevation 246.1 and <br />247.7 as well as lower at 223.7 and 226.2. <br /> <br />These recent seeps emit 10 gpm to 35 to 40 gpm individually. All seeps appear to be <br />inactive or insignificant when reservoir levels are at or below gauge 64.5 feet The <br />currently available repons do not indicate silty water emissions or silting. The recent <br />whirlpool characteristics at high reservoir and the rapid flow (<2 hours) between the <br />intake and the abutment piezometer and discharge zone provides clear indication that the <br />seepage is potentially a serious problem. <br /> <br />Considering this background info1lIllltion as well as the response characteristics <br />during anempts to limit seepage (1993) as described in the Hydro-Triad, LTD repon, <br />Harza is providing the following evaluation and recommendations. <br /> <br />During the reservoir raise of 1993, May 31 to June 18, seepage increased <br />progressively from elevation 10,225 upward into two areas adjacent to the plan location of <br />the lateral toe drain and eastward about 50 feet. As seepage moved laterally from the <br />initial zones more seeps became evident at elevations 10,292.5 and 10,297.5. <br /> <br />These zones developed as the reservoir reached a gauge height of 69 feet. During <br />this period piezometer observations indicated maximum rises of groundwater in the <br />abutment within 7 days and within the core in 13 days. <br /> <br />The piezometer responses relative to the dye migration rates indicate that peak <br />velocities, e.g. largest fracture apertures are near the highest gauge heights recorded. <br />Flow times at peak reservoir level were 2.5 hours and 1 hour and 50 minutes respectively. <br /> <br />Anempts to plug the seepage intake zones were made. Bentonite, cement and straw <br />were used. At the same time, the reservoir was lowered to gauge height 60.5 feet. These <br />actions resulted in the drying of the upper seepage zones. Testing and observations <br />throughout July and August confirmed that the seeps progressively dry up as the reservoir <br />water level drops. It's noted that the abutment piezometer, CA-1, dried up on July 13th at <br />gauge level 65.4 feet. The piezometer, CE-2, located in the core dried up on July 17th at <br />gauge height 62 feet. <br /> <br />It appears that the discharge point of the groundwater gradient in the downstream <br />shell of Continental Dam starts to rise above the toe of the dam as the reservoir level rises <br />above 58 to 59 feet (gauge). As the reservoir level reaches gauge levels of 64 feet the <br />velocity of the seepage increase dramatically and is measured in hours. This response <br />infers that the critical abutment seepage is occurring between elevation 58 and the dam <br />crest, a height of 32 feet. This does not presume no seepage below height 58 but that the <br /> <br />Page 7 of 15 <br />