An article appeared in Science magazine speculating the 2008 magnitude 8 Sichuan earthquake in China that killed over 68,000 people may have been caused by the filling of the Zipingpu dam.
While there is no general consensus on this claim there seems to be little doubt the 1967 magnitude 6.5 Koynanagar earthquake in India that killed over 1500 people was caused by the filling of the Koyna dam.
The mechanism is explained as follows.
Water behind the dam is pressing down on and infiltrating the rock underneath.
The weight of the water (small) arrows combined with seepage into fractures effectively lubricates the fractures and reduces the basement rocks frictional strength.
This induces slippage (large arrow) along the fault.
On a smaller scale the US army's Rocky Mountain arsenal near Denver Colorado was considered to be in a geologically stable region until the early 1960s.
Then for no apparent reason from 1962-1965 there were over 1000 earthquakes some of which were as high as magnitude 4.6.
An investigation revealed the arsenal generated large amount of liquid toxic waste.
To dispose of this contaminated water the army drilled a well five and a half inches in diameter and over 2 miles deep.
In March 1962 they started pumping the effluent into the well under pressure and at a rate of 300 gallons per minute.
After a month the tremors began; when pumping ceased in 1966 so did the earthquakes.
While there is no general consensus on this claim there seems to be little doubt the 1967 magnitude 6.5 Koynanagar earthquake in India that killed over 1500 people was caused by the filling of the Koyna dam.
The mechanism is explained as follows.
Water behind the dam is pressing down on and infiltrating the rock underneath.
The weight of the water (small) arrows combined with seepage into fractures effectively lubricates the fractures and reduces the basement rocks frictional strength.
This induces slippage (large arrow) along the fault.
On a smaller scale the US army's Rocky Mountain arsenal near Denver Colorado was considered to be in a geologically stable region until the early 1960s.
Then for no apparent reason from 1962-1965 there were over 1000 earthquakes some of which were as high as magnitude 4.6.
An investigation revealed the arsenal generated large amount of liquid toxic waste.
To dispose of this contaminated water the army drilled a well five and a half inches in diameter and over 2 miles deep.
In March 1962 they started pumping the effluent into the well under pressure and at a rate of 300 gallons per minute.
After a month the tremors began; when pumping ceased in 1966 so did the earthquakes.