Dynamic analysis of concrete gravity dam-reservoir systems is an important topic in the study of fluid-structure interaction problems. It is well-known that the rigorous approach for solving this problem relies heavily on employing a two-dimensional semi-infinite fluid element. The hyper-element is formulated in frequency domain and its application in this field has led to many especial purpose programs which were demanding from programming point of view. In this study, a technique is proposed for dynamic analysis of dam-reservoir systems in the context of pure finite element programming which is referred to as the wavenumber approach. In this technique, the wavenumber condition is imposed on the truncation boundary or the upstream face of the near-field water domain. The method is initially described. Subsequently, the response of an idealized triangular dam-reservoir system is obtained by this approach, and the results are compared against the exact response. Based on this investigation, it is concluded that this approach can be envisaged as a great substitute for the rigorous type of analysis.