China calls for smart dams to mitigate climate crisis

China is committed to working with other countries to advance the construction of smart dams as a key response to challenges brought by the global climate crisis, Minister of Water Resources Li Guoying said on Tuesday.

Li made the remarks at the Workshop on Digital and Intelligent Technologies for Dam Construction, Operation and Maintenance, held in Chengdu, 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 extreme conditions, underscoring the urgent need for effective risk management and higher-quality development," Li said.

He emphasized the development of smart dams as a crucial strategy to confront risks, adapt to changing conditions, and promote future development. "Smart dams will take the lead in advancing the modernization of the global dam sector," he said.

By digitally replicating all aspects of dam behavior and operations, smart dams enable full life-cycle monitoring, intelligent analysis, predictive insights and forward-looking decision-making, ultimately enhancing safety, efficiency and sustainability, Li said.

Through autonomous sensing, diagnosis and learning, smart dams can revolutionize traditional dam operations by optimizing performance and strengthening risk resilience, he said.

Li also highlighted digital twin technology as an effective pathway to implementing smart dams. By integrating physical and digital models, smart dams create a synchronized simulation platform for virtual-physical interaction and collaborative optimization, improving the scientific rigor and safety of operations, he said.

Drawing on data from monitoring systems and diagnostic analysis, smart dams allow short-term forecasting, medium-term prediction and long-term projections of all factors that affect dam safety and performance, Li said. This unified approach extends forecast lead times and improves accuracy, he added.

Simulations of risk scenarios and dam operations can be analyzed and evaluated to continuously refine contingency plans, enabling rapid construction and dynamic optimization of dam safety strategies, according to Li.

"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 global dam sector," he said.

"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," he added.

Michel Lino, president of the international dams commission, also known as ICOLD, emphasized the transformational role of digital and intelligent technologies in dam safety management.

"Technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data analysis and real-time monitoring are enabling us to shift from reactive safety management to proactive and predictive safety assurance," Lino said.

He noted that emerging systems are capable of detecting subtle changes in dam behavior before they escalate into problems, and that monitoring networks now feed data directly into intelligent algorithms capable of identifying patterns beyond human recognition. Tools that can not only diagnose issues but also recommend timely, automated responses are now available, he said.

houliqiang@chinadaily.com.cn