Effect of Groundwater Level toward Slope Stability

It is well recognized that groundwater has important role on the slope failure. Slope failures are
one of the serious hazards to the community. For example, the collapse of block ofluxury
condominium in Kuala Lumpur, the Genting Highland and Pos Dipang landslides tragedies as
well as other landslides disaster have caused substantial loss oflife and damage to property and
infrastructure.
The purpose of this project is to examine the influence of rising groundwater on the engineering
properties of soil. This study was base of laboratory model that allow control of groundwater by
adding and releasing water into/from the model. The influence of the groundwater on man-made
slope with a gradient of 34° was observed by determining the engineering properties of the soil at
various depth and observing the slope behavior.
It was found that the slope was stable as long as the groundwater is lower than the toe of the
slope. As the groundwater became higher than the toe, the moisture of the soil increase to level
that can cause slope failure. Slope failure occur when the moisture in the soil reaching 40%.