Hydraulic conductivity evaluation for seepage analysis on stratified sedimentary rocks at Chelchel dam site in Bale Zone of Ethiopia using hydraulic tests and geostatistical techniques

Hydraulic conductivity evaluation for seepage analysis on stratified sedimentary rocks at Chelchel dam site in Bale Zone of Ethiopia using hydraulic tests and geostatistical techniques | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Hydraulic conductivity evaluation for seepage analysis on stratified sedimentary rocks at Chelchel dam site in Bale Zone of Ethiopia using hydraulic tests and geostatistical techniques Kassahun Misgana, Matebie Meten This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7004680/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 11 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract A dam site with stratified sedimentary formations usually shows a spatial variability in its hydraulic conductivity causing seepage problems that demands estimating its values and spatial distribution in the current dam site. Based on field observation, borehole logging and geotechnical data, the area is classified into clayey silt, gravely sand, basalt, mudrock, sandstone and limestone layers. Data from Lugeon and falling head in-situ tests were used to calculate the hydraulic conductivity values of these rocks using empirical methods. These results indicated that the right bank has a higher hydraulic conductivity and weaker rock mass quality that can cause seepage problems. Statistical and geostatistical analyses were also performed to evaluate the distribution, trends and variation of hydraulic conductivity. Multiple regression analysis revealed that hydraulic conductivity has an exponential relationship with depth and RQD in an inverse manner. The transformed hydraulic conductivity values were used for geostatistical spatial analysis and interpolation. The spatial maps produced from sequential gaussian simulation are similar to the actual observation. The rock-fill embankment dam to be built in the study area requires the application of a combined seepage controlling measures like excavation and removal at overburden along the river channel; effective compaction at the left abutment and spillway; clay blanketing at the reservoir but the intercalated sandstone-shale-mudstone rocks from 10 to 40m with medium to higher permeability and the deeper cavernous limestone require other foundation treatments including vertical cutoff wall at shallow depth upstream of the dam axis and grouting at deeper depths within limestone cavities. Rock fill embankment dam Hydraulic conductivity Seepage Hydraulic test Geostatistics Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 05 Aug, 2025 Reviews received at journal 24 Jul, 2025 Reviews received at journal 22 Jul, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 17 Jul, 2025 Reviews received at journal 16 Jul, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 15 Jul, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 15 Jul, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 07 Jul, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 04 Jul, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 04 Jul, 2025 First submitted to journal 29 Jun, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7004680","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":481717272,"identity":"598ca041-ce88-4719-aeab-d70843c1ca4a","order_by":0,"name":"Kassahun Misgana","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Addis Ababa science and Technology University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Kassahun","middleName":"","lastName":"Misgana","suffix":""},{"id":481717273,"identity":"11faa93c-dd18-401b-8349-ea9d4fcea8bf","order_by":1,"name":"Matebie Meten","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAABE0lEQVRIiWNgGAWjYJACZgYDGLMCxmDDrwGqhRmIz8BUs+HTxgxWC9HC2EaEFt328wcfFxTYABn9Bx8XzrOTl5/fY8DwoewwA798A1YtZmeSmY1nGKQBGYeZjWduSzbccIzHgHHGucMMkm3YbTE7kMwmzWNwmMHsBpDBu42ZcQMbjwEzb9thBoNjOLScf8z+m8fgP4PZfSCDd069/fw2oJa/QC32uLQADWfmMTgAZDCzMfM2HE5sADqMmRFkCw7vm914bCw9wyCZB+gpY2meY8eTNxxLKzjYcy6dR+JYAg6HJT78XPDHTs7s+MGHn3lqqm3nNx/e+OBHmbUcf/MB7NZAAQ8K7wCGyCgYBaNgFIwCkgAAjxBWegAX9PsAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"Addis Ababa science and Technology University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Matebie","middleName":"","lastName":"Meten","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-06-29 20:08:14","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7004680/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7004680/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":87466915,"identity":"efea5136-b565-49a1-bdd2-96befe33d023","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-07-24 07:36:37","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1854871,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Hydraulicconductivityevaluationforseepageanalysis.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7004680/v1_covered_006af77b-46bd-48a5-bbe1-3acf8a62a74a.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Hydraulic conductivity evaluation for seepage analysis on stratified sedimentary rocks at Chelchel dam site in Bale Zone of Ethiopia using hydraulic tests and geostatistical techniques","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"discover-applied-sciences","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"Learn more about [Discover Applied Sciences](https://link.springer.com/journal/42452)","snPcode":"42452","submissionUrl":"https://submission.springernature.com/new-submission/42452/3","title":"Discover Applied Sciences","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Discover Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Rock fill embankment dam, Hydraulic conductivity, Seepage, Hydraulic test, Geostatistics","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7004680/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7004680/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eA dam site with stratified sedimentary formations usually shows a spatial variability in its hydraulic conductivity causing seepage problems that demands estimating its values and spatial distribution in the current dam site. 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