Event Date
Speaker Bio
Ben Aldridge is a Geotechnical Engineer in the AECOM Oakland Office. He has worked on multiple dams and water resources related projects throughout California and is the Embankment Design Lead for the Anderson Dam Seismic Retrofit Project (ADSRP). Ben has a Geotechnical Engineering license in the State of California and obtained is bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of California, Davis.
Abstract
Anderson Dam is an approximately 240-foot-high earthfill embankment located in Morgan Hill, CA (south of San Jose). The existing embankment is in a geologically complex location with multiple faults crossing the site and very close to the Calaveras Fault. In 2014 to 2016 it was determined that the embankment could fail under modern seismic loading, which would flood communities from Morgan Hill to San Jose. To address the deficiency, a seismic retrofit project has been developed. The project consists of replacing the existing embankment, outlet works, and spillway, with a modern facility that meets current standards. Earthwork to replace the dam is planned to occur over a five-year period, with a series of four lowered interim dams, each protected with temporary articulated concrete block lined spillways to convey more extreme inflow events. This presentation provides a summary of the geotechnical aspects of the project.