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Mapping Dam Leak Flow Paths

If you are responsible for the maintenance, regulation, and safety of any dam, you must have a precise understanding of seepage and leak flow paths. When you need to know how, where, and to what extent water is moving through a dam, you need AquaTrack.

AquaTrack is a patented, magnetic-based groundwater mapping solution that has allows you to see preferential flow paths and the extent of seeps, leaks, and boils through dams. AquaTrack provides you significant advantages:

Accurately maps leak flowpaths through dams
NON-INSTRUSIVE
Results in days, NOT MONTHS
Does not require draining water from reservoir

Earthen dam at River Reservoir #3 near Eagar, Arizona where Willowstick mapped a critical leak in April 2004. To learn more about this project, click here for the case study!

Why Choose Us?

When you choose our dam leak mapping service, you receive detailed maps that delineate water flow paths through, under, or around the abutments of dams and areas of high and low water concentrations within the dam. With this information you can focus your efforts on monitoring and remediating specific areas where the water seepage presents significant risk to the dam’s integrity.

dams

Plan and cross-section views of electrode placement in reservoir and downstream from dam, highlighting flowpath of current between electrodes. Note that in the above examples, current congregates in narrow channels through dam highlighting areas of potential piping.

Time is Money

We can conduct surveys in a matter of days instead of the weeks and months you would expect from other geophysical methods. In addition, our AquaTrack surveys can be performed without draining precious water from the reservoir.

Better Safe than Sorry

We can help you assess the integrity of the structure by identifying critical problems before they become imminent dangers to the surrounding community. Even better, we can help you know when there is no seepage to worry about.

How it Works

AquaTrack uses a low voltage, low amperage, audio frequency electrical current to energize the water-filled dam. Electrodes are placed strategically above the dam in the reservoir and below the dam in seeps or even the ground. Because the groundwater associated with the leak in the dam is a conductor, the electrical current follows the groundwater through the dam between the electrodes.

The AquaTrack receiver measures the specific magnetic field generated by the electrical current, filters out interference, and amplifies the signal. Repeated measurements are recorded over time to ensure consistent results. The recorded data is corrected to remove fluctuations due to natural phenomena and man-made interference. The horizontal and vertical magnetic field magnitudes and directions can be measured to further define the extent and paths of groundwater.

AquaTrack survey data is normalized to show relative highs and lows in the field data. These are referred to as anomalies that represent areas of different physical conditions. The changes in conductivity represent an increase or decrease in the presence of groundwater. In the simplest terms, the AquaTrack technology identifies where groundwater is most present in the area of investigation.

For more information about how Willowstick can help address your specific needs,

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