Rodman Raul Cordova Rodriguez, studying for his Ph.D. in geotechnical engineering at Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, developed an innovative dam construction project addressing water shortage and the global energy crisis. As both energy and water consumption continue to grow at four times and nine times the population growth rate, respectively, the impact to the communities and on our environment will only worsen and become more expensive to resolve. Inspired by these alarming facts, Cordova Rodriguez proposed a solution related to earth and dam monitoring to generate hydroelectricity, a renewable energy source, and simultaneously contribute to the storage of drinking water.

Using PLAXIS Designer, Cordova Rodriguez generated a 3D model of the earth structure with a crest length of 200 meters and height of 58 meters. He exported the model to PLAXIS 3D and created and integrated a groundwater model to analyze dam seepage, and a slope stability model to analyze and ensure structural integrity of the dam and the slopes of the reservoir basin. All the data collected by sensors will be sent to the data center in real time with a 5G connection to be shared with users, owners, public institutions, and local authorities in a web-based environment. The digital platform provides 24/7 secure access, with alarms to alert any issues, and automated report generation. It can be replicated in any area experiencing a lack of water supply. By applying advanced digital design, execution, and monitoring devices, Cordova Rodriguez has provided a conceptual solution to improve water supply and power generation that if not addressed presently, will pass along a more severe and more costly problem to future generations to resolve.