Full Text Available

Note: Clicking the button above will open the full text document at the original institutional repository in a new window.

Evaluating the decision criteria for the prioritisation of South African dams for rehabilitation in terms of risk to human lives

Thesis (MScEng)--Stellenbosch University, 2013.

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Reynolds, Sonel
Other Authors: Viljoen, Celeste
Format: Thesis
Language:en_ZA
Published: Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University 2013
Subjects:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1867614130321489920
access_status_str Open Access
author Reynolds, Sonel
author2 Viljoen, Celeste
author_browse Reynolds, Sonel
Viljoen, Celeste
author_facet Viljoen, Celeste
Reynolds, Sonel
author_sort Reynolds, Sonel
collection Thesis
dc_rights_str_mv Stellenbosch University
description Thesis (MScEng)--Stellenbosch University, 2013.
format Thesis
id oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/80288
institution Stellenbosch University (South Africa)
language en_ZA
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:47:08.513Z
license_str Other — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository
publishDate 2013
publishDateRange 2013
publishDateSort 2013
publisher Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
publisherStr Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
record_format dspace
source_str SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository
spelling oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/80288 Evaluating the decision criteria for the prioritisation of South African dams for rehabilitation in terms of risk to human lives Reynolds, Sonel Viljoen, Celeste Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Engineering. Dept. of Civil Engineering. Dams -- South Africa Department of Water Affairs (DWA) Dam safety Dam rehabilitation Dissertations -- Civil engineering Theses -- Civil engineering Dam failures Dams -- Safety measures Dams -- Maintenance and repair Thesis (MScEng)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In South Africa a large number of dams owned by the Department of Water Affairs (DWA) need to be rehabilitated. This study investigated the decision process involved in the prioritisation of dams for rehabilitation. DWA developed a risk analysis methodology for defining the risks associated with dam safety, expressed as the combination of the probability and consequences of dam failure. These risks are evaluated usingmultiple acceptability criteria to assess risk to human life and the economic, social, socio-economic and environmental impacts of dam failure. In this study, the criteria used in the decision process to evaluate the acceptability of life safety risks were evaluated by comparing to international best practice methods, where the acceptability of risk to human life is commonly assessed as the expected number of fatalities against life safety criteria presented as FN-criteria on an FN-diagram. Damrehabilitation should reduce the probability of dam failure, thereby reducing the risk to society in terms of the expected lives lost. However, the rehabilitation works come at a cost and the level of these investments are usually large. In addition, the rehabilitation of South African government owned dams are financed by society and these financial resources are limited. Thus investments into dam rehabilitation works should be worthwhile for society. Society’s Willingness to Pay (SWTP) for safety was applied to South African dam safety to determine the acceptable level of expenditure into life safety that is required by society. Investments into improved safety levels are not always dictated by society, but could also be driven by the decision maker or owner requiring an economically optimal solution for the rehabilitation. Economic optimisation accounts for considerations additional to life safety, including economic motivations, damage costs of dam failure as well as compensation costs for lives lost. Often economic optimisation would govern the decision problem. Also, the DWA current evaluation does not take the cost of rehabilitation into account in any way. Thus, FN-criteria that primarily evaluates life safety, but also incorporates a measure of economic efficiency, were suggested in this study. AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In Suid-Afrika moet ’n groot aantal dammewat deur dieDepartement vanWaterwese (DWA) besit word gerehabiliteer word. Hierdie studie het die besluitnemingsproses ondersoekwat toegepasword om damme te prioritiseer vir rehabilitasiewerke. DWA het ’n bestaande metodologie wat gebaseer is op risiko-analise. Die risikos wat verband hou met damveiligheid word deur die metode bepaal en word uitgedruk as die kombinasie van waarskynlikheid en die beraamde gevolge van damfaling. Hierdie risikosword geëvalueer teenoor verskeie kriteriawat die aanvaarbaarheid van risikos teenoor menselewens en die ekonomiese, sosiale, sosio-ekonomiese en omgewingsimpakte van damfalings assesseer. In hierdie studie word die kriteria wat gebruik word in die besluitnemingsproses om die aanvaarbaarheid van risikos teenoor menselewens te bepaal geëvalueer deur die kriteria te vergelyk met metodes wat internasionaal as beste praktyk beskou word. Internasionaal word die aanvaarbaarheid van risikos teenoor menselewens oor die algemeen as die verwagte aantal sterftes teenoor lewensveiligheidskriteria FN-kriteria op ’n FN-diagram geassesseer. Dam rehabilitasiewerke behoort die waarskynlikheid van damfaling te verminder, sodoende verminder die risiko teenoor die samelewing in terme van verwagte sterftes. Die rehabilitasiewerke vereis finansiële beleggings, en hierdie beleggings is gewoonlik groot. Verder word die rehabilitasie van Suid-Afrikaanse damme wat deur DWA besit word deur samelewing gefinansier en hierdie finasiële hulpbronne is beperk. Dus moet hierdie beleggings die moeite werd wees vir die samelewing. Die samelewing se bereidwilligheidomte betaal ("SWTP") vir veiligheid word toegepas in Suid- Afrikaanse damveiligheidomdie aanvaarbare vlak van beleggings vir ’n verbeterde veiligheid teenoor menselewens wat deur die samelewing vereis word te bepaal. Beleggings in verbeterde damveiligheidsvlakke word egter nie altyd bepaal deur die samelewing nie,maar kan ook gedryf word deur die besluitnemer of eienaar wat ’n ekonomies optimale oplossing vir die rehabilitatiesewerke vereis. Ekonomiese optimering neem oorwegings addisioneel tot lewensveiligheid in ag, insluitend ekonomiese motiverings, skade kostes as die dam faal, sowel as vergoedingskostes vir die verwagte sterftes. Ekonomiese optimering beheer dikwels die besluitnemingsprobleem. Verder neem die huidige DWA besluitnemingssproses in geen manier die kostes van rehabilitasie in ag nie. Dus word FN-kriteria wat hoofsaaklik veiligheid teenoor menselewens evalueer,maar wat ook ’n mate van ekonomiese doeltreffendheid insluit, voorgestel in hierdie studie. 2013-02-26T07:35:47Z 2013-03-15T07:43:51Z 2013-02-26T07:35:47Z 2013-03-15T07:43:51Z 2013-03 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/80288 en_ZA Stellenbosch University xviii, 180 p. : ill. application/pdf Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
spellingShingle Dams -- South Africa
Department of Water Affairs (DWA)
Dam safety
Dam rehabilitation
Dissertations -- Civil engineering
Theses -- Civil engineering
Dam failures
Dams -- Safety measures
Dams -- Maintenance and repair
Reynolds, Sonel
Evaluating the decision criteria for the prioritisation of South African dams for rehabilitation in terms of risk to human lives
title Evaluating the decision criteria for the prioritisation of South African dams for rehabilitation in terms of risk to human lives
title_full Evaluating the decision criteria for the prioritisation of South African dams for rehabilitation in terms of risk to human lives
title_fullStr Evaluating the decision criteria for the prioritisation of South African dams for rehabilitation in terms of risk to human lives
title_full_unstemmed Evaluating the decision criteria for the prioritisation of South African dams for rehabilitation in terms of risk to human lives
title_short Evaluating the decision criteria for the prioritisation of South African dams for rehabilitation in terms of risk to human lives
title_sort evaluating the decision criteria for the prioritisation of south african dams for rehabilitation in terms of risk to human lives
topic Dams -- South Africa
Department of Water Affairs (DWA)
Dam safety
Dam rehabilitation
Dissertations -- Civil engineering
Theses -- Civil engineering
Dam failures
Dams -- Safety measures
Dams -- Maintenance and repair
url http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/80288
work_keys_str_mv AT reynoldssonel evaluatingthedecisioncriteriafortheprioritisationofsouthafricandamsforrehabilitationintermsofrisktohumanlives