Abstract <p>Embankment dams play a vital role in water resource management and flood mitigation. In this study, two-dimensional finite element analysis was conducted to investigate the influence of a chimney drain on a zoned embankment dam, focusing on critical factors including tension cracking, hydraulic fracturing, seepage behaviour, and slope stability under reservoir rise-up, full-reservoir, steady-state, and drawdown conditions. Under full reservoir conditions, vertical deformation was about 50 mm near the crest. Tension cracking was observed near the crest at the shell-core interface. Although hydraulic fracturing did not occur, potential risk was identified after 50 days of reservoir rise-up. Under steady-state seepage conditions, the inclusion of a chimney drain effectively reduced the exit hydraulic gradient and total seepage discharge, thereby lowering erosion risk; however, it slightly increased the seepage velocity at the intersection of the phreatic line with the chimney drain. Additionally, the drain lowered the phreatic line, improved shear strength, and enhanced the factor of safety. During drawdown conditions, the presence of a chimney drain showed negligible impact on upstream slope stability, with maximum deformations exceeding 160 mm near the heel.</p> Highlights <p><UnorderedList Mark="Bullet"> <ItemContent> <p>Analysis of zoned embankment dams for no drain and chimney drain under rise-up, steady-state seepage and drawdown conditions.</p> </ItemContent> <ItemContent> <p>Assessment of hydraulic fracturing susceptibility under rise-up conditions, using minor principal stress and stress ratio criteria.</p> </ItemContent> <ItemContent> <p>Coupled stress–seepage–slope stability analysis for both upstream and downstream under steady-state seepage and drawdown conditions.</p> </ItemContent> </UnorderedList></p>