Well there are many differences between dam and embankment. To make it clear, let’s analyze the differences in a dam vs embankment table as below.
Topic |
Dam |
Embankment |
| Location | Vertical to river direction | Parallel to river at safe distance |
| Main function | Creating reservoir during upstream | Force a river to flow in its own direction |
| Best place for construction | Along with the narrow width of a river | Downstream of a river or river bank near a city. |
| Construction materials | Soil, masonry, concrete etc | Generally: sand |
| Service time | Lifetime | Only during flood |
| Effect on river bed | Sediment occurs, river bed gets filled | River bed erosion occurs due to increase of water current. |
| Effect on flood | Can cause flood during upstream | Reduce flood affect |
| Effect on water flow in river | Decrease river flow velocity | Increase river flow velocity (also during flood) |
| Maintenance | Always | Maintenance is required especially before and after flood |
| Length | Equal to river width | Couple of kilometers to hundreds of kilometers depending on necessity. |