Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Cave and Karst Science, cilt.29, sa.3, ss.111-116, 2003 (Scopus)
May Dam provides a typical example of the problems that may be associated with dams constructed in karstic regions and the associated development of subsurface karstic features beneath a reservoir. Following construction of the May Dam in 1960 there were immediate leakage problems. The reservoir behind the dam is within a heavily fractured karstic region and water leakage via fractures in the limestone floor constitutes 67% of the total water entering the reservoir. Water leaks led to the washout of unconsolidated material from underlying conduits and the formation of voids in alluvial cover. Frequent fluctuations of the levels of the reservoir and the water table cause enlargement of soil voids and formation of cover-collapse sinkholes. In February 2002, when the reservoir level was at its maximum, three large collapse sinkholes formed in the reservoir floor. These sinkholes and other sinkholes that might form in the future pose a major threat to the stability of the local environment and the dam.