Oxford Hydro Station Flood Remediation

Since 1997, Duke Power, a division of Duke Energy (Duke) has been implementing a program of dam stability and flood remediation to bring its facilities in compliance with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Guidelines. To date, ten Catawba River hydro stations have received some form of remedial work that has included floodwalls, drain relief in galleries, tendon anchors, anchored buttresses and the addition of an emergency spillway.
Engineering staff of Devine Tarbell & Associates, Inc. (DTA) have been instrumental in executing the dam stability and remediation program for Duke. DTA engineers have performed analyses to identify which hydro stations require strengthening or flood level control to meet the FERC Guidelines. Site investigation programs have been performed to provide test and observational data that are used in a stability analysis and evaluation for each structure. The site investigation programs typically included core drilling and testing of samples from the concrete structures and their foundations, geological evaluation of the foundation structure, and an evaluation of the as-built condition of the structures based on construction drawings and photographs. Parameters from the site investigations were combined with calculated flood loadings and analyzed to determine a program of structural strengthening and flood remedial measures specific to each hydro station.
The Oxford Project is unique in that it applied a synthesis of techniques to reach a comprehensive engineering solution. As a result, not only dam and public safety was addressed, but enhancements in environmental aspects (bank stabilization) and recreation access were achieved.