Hydrology 101 for Dam Safety

Hydrology is the study of the movement, distribution, and quality of water throughout the Earth, and thus addresses both the hydrologic cycle and water resources. A practitioner of hydrology is a hydrologist, working within the fields of earth or environmental science, physical geography or civil and environmental engineering. Broadly, hydrology is classified into two groups. The scientific hydrology is concerned mainly with the academic aspect, whereas the engineering or applied hydrology includes: estimation of water resources; the study of processes like precipitation, evaporation, runoff and their interdependence; understanding the properties of water in nature; and dealing with natural problems like droughts and floods.

The Webinar stresses the fundamentals of hydrology and is an introduction to the Hydrologic Processes. The class will stress the importance the fundamentals and their application to dam safety. The Webinar is broken down into three short sessions: (1) Fundamental Hydrology; (2) Hydrologic Modeling for Gaged Watersheds; and (3) Hydrologic Modeling for Ungaged Watersheds.

Speaker and Presenter Information

Dr. Miller is a nationally-recognized expert in hydrology, hydraulic engineering, and dam safety. He is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Penn State University, where he was the head of the Water Resources Group prior to joining AECOM in 2006 as a a Science Practice Leader. He has over 40 years of experience in water resources performing research, consulting and publishing in hydrology, hydraulics, floodplain delineation, dam safety, bridge scour, river mechanics and sediment transport.

Dr. Miller served as Chair of the Energy Power Research Institute (EPRI) Task Committee on Standards for PMP for Dam Safety Analysis, he served on the Task Committee of ASCE that established their National Guidelines for the Hydrologic Safety of Dams and served as Chair of a Task Committee for FERC that established their Federal Guidelines for Dam Safety, he co-authored their chapter on hydrologic computations dealing with reservoir analysis.

In 2007 he was awarded the ASDSO Hampton Medal for outstanding contributions to research and practice in hydrologic and hydraulic engineering for dams.

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