Definition

Noun: 1. A temporary barrier or boarding placed along the top of a dam or weir to increase the water level: A flashboard is a removable structure, often consisting of planks or panels, that is added to the crest of a dam to raise the height of the water impounded behind it. It is used to control water flow and storage, typically for irrigation, water supply, or flow measurement.

Usage

• Flashboards are used to temporarily increase a dam's storage capacity or to regulate the release of water.
• They are often designed to be easily installed or removed, sometimes failing or washing away under high water pressure to prevent overtopping of the main dam structure.
• The term is primarily used in civil engineering, hydrology, and water resource management contexts.

Examples

• Noun:
  • The water level in the reservoir was raised by installing a flashboard on the spillway.
  • During the dry season, they added flashboards to the dam to conserve more water for irrigation.
  • A section of the wooden flashboard was dislodged by the force of the floodwaters.

Advanced Usage

• "Flashboard riser": A specific type of outlet structure in a pond or basin that uses flashboards to control the elevation of the water surface and the rate of discharge.
• "Flashboard weir": A weir equipped with removable flashboards to make the crest height adjustable.

Variants and Related Words

• Flashboarding (noun): The material (e.g., planks) used to create a flashboard, or the system of flashboards collectively.
  • The dam's flashboarding was made of treated timber.
• Stoplog (noun): A similar engineering component, typically a single beam or plank, used to close an opening. Flashboards are often a series of stoplogs.

Synonyms

• Weir board: A board used on a weir for a similar purpose.
• Crest board: A board placed at the crest (top) of a structure.
• Dam board: A general term for boarding on a dam.

Related Phrases

• "To set the flashboards": To install or put the flashboards in place.
  • They will set the flashboards next week to prepare for the summer demand.
• "To pull the flashboards": To remove the flashboards, often to lower the water level.
  • The decision was made to pull the flashboards to increase the spillway capacity before the storm.

Noun

1. boarding place along the top of a dam to increase its height