Introduction to Inspecting Dam For Owners and Operators

Notice: For this special webinar for dam owners and operators, the discounted fee of $50 provides access to the archived recording of the webinar, and does not include a quiz or certificate for professional development hours (PDHs).

This seminar provides an introduction to inspecting and evaluating dams. The target audience is dam owners and personnel responsible for the operation and maintenance of dams. The principles, concepts and procedures taught are applicable to any dam owner or organization conducting dam inspections and evaluating their compliance with current design and maintenance standards. Participants will be familiarized with a variety of dam types and their appurtenances, instructed in the function of typical dam features, and become aware of common dam failure modes and the conditions that can lead to these failure modes. The importance of performing dam inspections will be discussed along with what to look for in order to be able to identify potential deficiencies before they become a problem. Acceptable standards for the condition and operation and maintenance of dams will be presented and their significance will be reinforced with examples from recent dam failures.

Speaker and Presenter Information

Paul G. Schweiger, P.E. is a Vice President of Gannett Fleming and has over 26 years of consulting engineering experience. He has served as a project engineer or manager for the design of ten new dams, including four NRCS dams, and the design and technical review of many dam rehabilitation projects. He has inspected hundreds of dams across the nation including over 100 dam assessment reports for the NRCS. He was also responsible for conducting dam safety inspections and performing failure modes analysis for 16 high hazard dams on the Island of Oahu following the Ka Loko Dam failure, and providing dam safety training to Hawaii’s state dam owners, regulators, and consulting engineers.

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