Can dams and reservoirs cause earthquakes? Triggering of earthquakes

Abstract

No! Not on their own. But, stresses and pore pressure due to natural causes may already have accumulated in crustal rocks at some dam sites to near critical levels for fresh faulting or renewed slip on nearby pre-existing faults. The stresses and pore pressure induced by impoundment of reservoirs there may marginally abet the tendencies to such failures and even trigger or induce earthquakes by being the proverbial last straw.