## 1 Introduction  
The construction of a dam and the formation of a reservoir upstream can provide multiple benefits, including the use of the dammed watercourse for processing into drinking water [1], irrigation [2], electricity generation [3], and flood control [3]. Ensuring the safety of a dam is crucial for the protection of private and public property, the environment, and the economic development of the surrounding area [2]. Safety regulations for dams [4] aim to ensure that they can perform their intended functions without causing harm to people, the environment, or property [5]. Like all structures, dams have a limited lifespan [6] and can be affected by changes in operating conditions (due to climate change) [7], construction materials [8], and the geotechnical environment over time [9]. In addition, social and professional factors that impact safety criteria and risk may change, often as a result of changes in standards and legal norms. The need to monitor the condition of a dam over time [10] becomes more important as the material ages and deteriorates [8], especially in light of the increasing frequency of extreme droughs and floods due to climate change [11]. These floods and droughs can significantly increase or decrease ground water levels, and consequently values of pore pressure. Dams that were built decades ago now face more extreme load cases, which were far more favorable at the time of their construction. The technical monitoring of a dam using measuring instruments [12] is a crucial part of dam operation management, with the goal of preventing the possibility of damage, collapse, and uncontrolled water discharge [13]. The purpose of technical observation is to measure a range of relevant values and determine whether the actual condition of the dam is consistent with the predicted behavior [10]. Hence, the goal of data collection is to provide sufficient information to identify and detect processes that could compromise the safety of the facility [14]. The system for technical monitoring and data collection has evolved over time [15], leading to the need for standardization of data [14]. As a result, the collection, acquisition, archiving, processing, and use of technical monitoring data form a modern Dam Monitoring System (DMS) [16]. The concept of dam safety management includes a series of procedures designed to create a physically based, software-supported system that will ensure the collection of all data that are important for dam safety [16]. The analysis and interpretation of these data through mathematical models of relevant processes allow for the identification of appropriate actions to ensure the safety and stability of dams. Mathematical models for predicting the behavior of dams [17] are an important part of DMSs and their improvement is the main focus of this paper. These models provide an estimated response of a dam to a given load and can be compared with measurements to determine the safety of the dam [18]. There are several types of models that can be used to predict dam behavior, including statistical models [19], deterministic models, and mixed hybrid mathematical models [20]. Statistical models are based solely on past monitoring data and explain the relationship between loads and dam behavior [21]; however, their parameters do not have physical meaning [22]. Models based on multiple linear regression (MLR) are commonly used for prediction due to their simplicity and quick calculation [23]. Deterministic models, on the other hand, require the solution of differential equations. Solving closed-form differential equations can be difficult, so many models are based on numerical methods such is the Finite Element Method (FEM) [24; 25; 26; 27]. An example of FEM-based software used in geomechanics, GeoStudio Core, includes specialized solvers: SLOPE/W [29], SEEP/W [30], and SIGMA/W [31]. PLAXIS is another well-known advanced three-dimensional geotechnical engineering software that uses finite element analysis [32; 33].