China reiterates commitment to collaborating with others on smart dams

China's Minister of Water Resources Li Guoying has stressed the nation's commitment to collaborating with other countries in advancing the construction of smart dams, recognizing this initiative as a vital response to challenges brought on by the global climate crisis.

He made the remarks on Tuesday at the Workshop on Digital and Intelligent Technologies for Dam Construction, Operation, and Maintenance, which was held in Chengdu, provincial capital of Sichuan province, on the sidelines of the 28th International Commission on Large Dams Congress and 93rd Annual Meeting.

"The growing impacts of climate change are leading to greater uncertainties and complexities, and dams are facing increasingly complex and extreme conditions, underscoring the urgent need for effective risk management and higher-quality development," the minister stated.

He stressed the development of smart dams as a key strategy for confronting risks, adapting to change and driving future development.

"Smart dams will take the lead in advancing the modernization of the global dam sector," Li said.

Digitally replicating all aspects of dam behavior and operations, he said smart dams enable full life-cycle monitoring, intelligent analysis, predictive insights and forward-looking decision support, ultimately improving safety, efficiency, and sustainability.

Through autonomous sensing, diagnosis, and learning, they revolutionize traditional dam operations, ensuring optimized performance and enhanced risk resilience, he added.

"By integrating physical and digital models, smart dams establish a synchronized simulation platform that enables virtual-physical interaction and collaborative optimization, enhancing the scientific rigor and safety of operational management," Li said.

Drawing upon monitoring and perception data and diagnostic analysis, smart dams enable short-term forecasting, medium-term prediction, and long-term projections on changes of all factors affecting dam safety and performance, representing a unified approach that extends the forecast lead time while improving its accuracy, Li noted.

Through simulation of risk response and dam operational scenarios, he said results are analyzed and evaluated to enable non-stop optimization of contingency plans, achieving rapid construction and dynamic refinement of dam safety behavior.

"We believe, the modernization of dam construction, marked by intelligent transformation, will profoundly reshape the future of dam development and set new benchmarks for the future of global dam development," he underscored.

"China is ready to work with international counterparts to foster innovation and progress in dam engineering, and to contribute to high-quality water development and global water security."