Risk Management for a Portfolio of Dams

This webinar is a follow-up to the first in this series, Risk Assessment Basics for an Individual Dam. It is recommended that the two webinars be viewed in order if possible, and both are available in the On-Demand section of the website. Risk Management for a Portfolio of Dams explains how risk assessment is being used by some owners and regulators to improve the management of dam safety for a portfolio of dams in the context of the owner’s business. The role of risk assessment in strengthening both routine and non-routine dam safety activities will be described. The use of risk assessment for prioritized queues of investigations and risk-reduction measures to achieve more rapid and cost-effective risk reduction will also be described. Examples will be provided of ways in which portfolio risk assessment has led to improving the integration of dam safety with other parts of the owner’s business, such as insurance coverages and increased funding for dam safety.

Speaker and Presenter Information

David S. Bowles, Ph.D., P.E., P.H., D.WRE, F.ASCE

Since 1978 David and his colleagues have pioneered the development and practical application of risk-informed approaches to dam safety management. They have completed risk assessments for more than 750 dams in many countries, ranging from screening to detailed assessments with uncertainty analysis. David has assisted with the development of tailored frameworks for dam and levee safety risk management, including tolerable risk guidelines, for owners, regulators and national bodies. Clients have included Reclamation, USACE, TVA, World Bank, WMO, IAEA, EU, FERC, ANCOLD and NSW DSC. He has served as an expert witness for dam and canal failures, reservoir operation and hydropower generation, toxic tort, and urban flooding.

David has provided training programs on six continents. He is a coauthor of ICOLD Bulletin 130 on dam safety risk assessment and numerous other guidance documents. He has led software development for dam risk analysis (DAMRAE) and life-loss estimation (LIFESim) for USACE, portfolio risk assessment for a large UK dam owner (ResRisk), and real-time reservoir flood operation for Reclamation, USACE and SAFCA.

David is Managing Principal of RAC Engineers and Economists and Emeritus Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Utah State University (USU). Previous positions include Director of Institute for Dam Safety Risk Management at USU, Director of Utah Center for Water Resources Research, Engineering Department Manager and Branch Manager for Law Engineering’s Denver office, and a construction and design engineer for a large international contractor based in the UK.

Home Page (including links to selected papers): http://uwrl.usu.edu/people/faculty/bowles.html
Email: David_S_Bowles

Relevant Government Agencies

Army, Dept of Energy, Dept of Homeland Security, Dept of the Interior, Other Federal Agencies, State Government, County Government, City Government, Municipal Government, FEMA, Federal Government, State & Local Government