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Dam Safety Goes Digital: Online Monitoring Across 728 Hydropower Dams

June 10, 2026 by
Dam Safety Goes Digital: Online Monitoring Across 728 Hydropower Dams

China has about 94,000 dams with a total capacity of around one trillion cubic meters; dam safety is a top priority for the energy and water sectors. The National Energy Administration's management measures set explicit monitoring requirements for hydropower dams of 50 MW and above: the 728 dams under its supervision center were required to achieve online monitoring by the end of 2024, with annual publication of dam safety responsibility lists.

In May 2025, the ICOLD congress convened in Chengdu and released the Chengdu Declaration, elevating dam safety and international experience sharing. Online monitoring is thus moving from an option for key dams to a routine, full-coverage institutional arrangement.

Dam monitoring spans deformation, seepage and stress disciplines, with vibration monitoring playing an important role in flood-discharge excitation studies and dynamic property assessment. Corecloud's high-precision vibration solutions provide long-term online dynamic response data for dam bodies and appurtenant structures.

Sources: National Energy Administration releases; ICOLD Chengdu congress public information.

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