Storage dams are used to store water for extended lengths of time.
The redirected water can be used to supply irrigation systems, reservoirs, or hydroelectric power generation facilities.
The combination of these building materials with either clay or an impervious membrane gives the embankment dam its integrity.
Buttress style dams are built across wide valleys that do not have a solid bedrock foundation.
[3] Bedrock is solid rock that makes up the upper part of the Earth's crust.
[4] Buttress dams require extensive steel framework and labor.
As a result, buttress style dams are expensive to construct and are seldom built today.
Arch style dams are generally constructed in narrow canyons.