Design standards No. 13 : Embankment Dams. Chapter 17 - Soil-Cement Slope Protection

This chapter pertains primarily to stairstep and plating methods of soil-cement construction for the purpose of protecting the upstream face of embankments from erosion due to wind induced waves and from damage caused by ice and floating debris. The guidance included herein is based on experience from previous Reclamation projects and research. It should be used as the basis for the selection, design, and specification of soil-cement slope protection on Reclamation projects.
Soil-cement has been used to protect upstream areas, in addition to the dam face, from erosion due to wind-induced waves and surface runoff. These areas include reservoir rim slopes and channel linings where thin soil-cement slope protection is constructed parallel to the slope using the plating method of construction. Some guidance is included for the plating method of construction that was used at Merritt, Palmetto Bend, Choke Canyon, and Virginia Smith Dams, as well as at Warren H. Brock Reservoir.