The 2019 Spencer Dam Failure - An Extreme Case of Dams in Cold Regions

This event qualifies for:

PDH accreditation2

This webinar will describe the physical processes and human factors that contributed to the failure of Nebraska’s Spencer Dam in a 2019 ice run. There was one fatality. Due to cold and ice, dams in cold regions can experience loadings that are not applicable to dams in warm regions, including ice runs, gate ice-up, gate clogging, and frozen operating equipment. This webinar will expand the knowledge of people who work on dams in cold regions.

Learning objectives attendees will receive from this webinar:

Identify unusual loadings on dams.
Learn about dams in cold regions.
Understand Spencer Dam failure and its investigation.
View selected cases of the regulator's connection to dam incidents.
Understand the importance of a dam's history.
Learn about downstream hazard classification and why people don't evacuate.

Speaker Details

Mark Baker, P.E.
DamCrest Consulting
Senior Dam Safety Program Engineer

Mark worked at the Bureau of Reclamation for 25 years. For 17 years, he was a program manager in Reclamation’s Dam Safety Office, leading the technical execution of the Bureau of Indian Affairs Dam Safety Program (110 high-hazard potential dams). In 2011, he became the Dam Safety Officer of the National Park Service (60 dams). Also in 2011, he founded and led the ASDSO Dam Failures & Incidents Committee. Under his leadership, ASDSO created the popular website DamFailures.org and began the Decade Dam Failure series. He was selected to lead the independent Spencer Dam failure investigation team in 2019 due to his failure and incident experience. In 2024, he co-edited ASDSO’s book Dam Failures and Incidents with 106 cases. For the past seven years, he has managed his own consultancy, DamCrest Consulting, focusing on dam safety programs, risk management, and dam failure/incident investigations.

Event Topic

Emergency Management, Environment, Public Safety

Relevant Audiences

All State and Local Government, All Federal Government, City Government, County Government, Municipalities, State Government, Department of Agriculture, Department of Energy, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Interior, Environmental Protection Agency, Federal Emergency Management Agency

Other Agency

Other Federal Agencies, Foreign Governments/Agencies