Аннотация
Synopsis Power production in Albania relies on renewable energy such as hydropower, which produces almost 79% of the generating capacity in the country. This energy is generated by three hydropower plants; Fierza HPP, Komani HPP and Vau i Dejës HPP, which are installed on the Drin River cascade, the largest one in the Balkan region. In terms of height, importance and risk of failure, ICOLD has categorized them as 1st class dams. Albanian Power Corporation (KESH), as the public owner of the dams, has paid special attention to dam safety by investing periodically in monitoring equipment and studies. In addition to in-built dam instrumentation, meteorological monitoring is also considered to be a necessary safety precaution. Hence a hydro-meteorological station network has recently been set up that will provide an early indication of the amount of rainfall and runoff entering the lakes. The purpose of this paper is to present the methods that have been applied to discover the origin and direction of movement of water leakage in the dam toe at Koman HPP, even though it does not constitutes a threat to the dam’s safety. To monitor this leakage KESH has conducted many studies and research. Over the last few years studies have been carried out based on geophysical methods to understand the water movement, including inspection of the concrete face using an ROV; tracer testing and diving. In addition to these studies, attention has been focused on the automatic data collection from the system of piezometers and inclinometers. This will enable the operator to receive the dam monitoring data in real time in order to provide improved operation of the dam and prompt intervention in the event of an incident.