In India Dams ensure fresh water storage and availability of water throughout the year for irrigation, hydroelectric generation, flood control, fisheries etc. Rightly called as “Temples of Modern India”, these dams have been instrumental in managing water resources optimally. Soon after Independence India saw a sudden jump in the number of dam projects to boost agrarian and allied economies. Like every other structure dams also have a life span and it continuously withstand the natural pressure throughout its life hence it becomes important to measure the health parameters of a dam structure on a continuous basis. Dam's storage also gives rise to micro seismicity and induce small earthquakes in a localized region due to the seepage of water in the layers beneath the reservoir. Such mild tremors could cause intense movement of the dam structure apart from other factors like pour water pressure in upward direction. Pour water pressure along with hydrostatic pressure due to reservoir on the wall can result in the movement of entire structure in 3d and non uniform deformation of the dam wall. Geodetic surveying techniques and instrumentation like precise Total Stations and DGNSS can monitor the deformation and shifting of the wall in real time on continuous basis. Geodetic controls are established in near by stable area are used as point of reference to measure the deformation of selected points. Now a day's software and mathematical techniques are available to combine the data from optical total station and DGNSS to ensure the reliability of the measurements.
