MANAGEMENT OF 20TH CENTURY HYDROELECTRIC PLANTS AS INDUSTRIAL HERITAGE

Abstract. By rapidly increasing the production of energy and widely extending the usage of electricity in the 20th century, hydroelectric plants and dams have radically affected the social, technological and industrial aspects of the period. Therefore, as an integral part of industrial heritage, the cultural assets of these energy facilities are required to be preserved. As a requirement of this hypothesis, it is necessary: to develop management strategies for these assets; to provide scientific data and information on these buildings / facilities; to define criteria of ‘planned conservation’ with long-term preventive measures in order to provide the continuation of the original function as long as possible. Hydroelectric plants are a common subject of interest for several disciplines, such as: engineering, hydrology, ecology, geo-sciences and remote sensing. Therefore, the conservation of the plants also requires the interdisciplinary study and collaboration of these disciplines.

Within the study, the considerations of an interdisciplinary approach – such as dam safety, ecological concerns and energy requirements – are presented, and examples from different countries are examined through the framework of architectural conservation, considering cases of dam failures, intended removal of dams and upgrading of facilities. Preventive measures for the planned conservation of hydro electrical facilities such as: constant maintenance of technical components; management of the sediment accumulated in the reservoirs; methods of analysis for the structure of the embankment are introduced briefly, concentrating on gravity dams, in order to provide conclusions for the conservation of Sarıyar Dam and Hydroelectric Plant (1956) in Turkey.