Seepage Models – Tips, Tools & Guidance (From an Engineer’s Perspective)

How to develop an efficient model to achieve the desired objective, what are the minimum data needs for a reliable model, how much effort will the modeling take, how should the results be interpreted, how does one check and verify the results are reasonable, what if two-dimensional models cannot represent actual conditions—these are all questions engineers should be asking before jumping neck deep into a seepage model. Seepage models can be tweaked and adjusted based on very little data until the results look like what the modeler hoped they would, but “garbage-in, garbage-out” makes those models a waste of time. This paper provides tips, tools and guidance for developing an effective model with focus on some of the more challenging features to model in dam cross-sections, estimating and understanding soil parameters, and how to interpret, check, and verify results. This paper also provides examples of when progressively more advanced three-dimensional or transient seepage modeling is warranted.