Geological and geotechnical assessment in support of the protection of the indigenous peoples religious practices affected by a water dam project

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Geological and geotechnical assessment, as well as technical support by way of structural analysis, were carried out to ensure the safe transfer of a boulder with a regularly shaped dark clast, which a group of indigenous people considers as a religious artifact. The huge rock is located at an area that is expected to be inundated once a water dam project starts regular operation. Thus, it is necessary that the rock be relocated at a higher ground to prevent it from being submerged thereby permitting the locals to continue their religious practice. The boulder is irregularly shaped whose mass is estimated to be within 11.5 to 12.5 tons, and is composed of highly-indurated agglomerate with a tuffaceous matrix. Based on the estimated intact rock strength, the rock is deemed to be highly durable. Slope stability analysis, via Limit-Equilibrium Method, and settlement analysis were carried out to assess the safety of the seven prospect sites. Of the seven sites, Site 5 was found to be the most idealboth in terms of safety and practicality. Structural analysis was also carried out for the steel systems used for the relocation. The rock was safely transferred to Site 5 after confirming structural soundness and after reviewing the method statement and equipment specifications. The paper discusses the results of the geological and geotechnical assessment for the site, as well as the modeling and analysis done to support the methodology of transfer, ensuring the protection of the indigenous peoples right to practice their religion.

9th International Congress on Environmental Geotechnics (ICEG2023)

Human-Induced and Natural Disaster Mitigation