Dam Failure Case Study: Palagnedra Dam (Switzerland, 1978)

Palagnedra Dam is a 72-meter tall, 120-meter long concrete gravity arched dam with a storage volume of 4.8 x106 cubic meters. It was constructed between 1950 and 1952. Palagnedra Dam is located in Switzerland, and its primary purpose is for energy production, providing approximately 40% of the electricity to the surrounding area. Although it was unfortunate that the dam overtopped, it did not fail. The Palagnedra dam incident was very influential in advancing Switzerland’s spillway capacity and debris management requirements for all dams.