Failure mode evaluation or what now is more commonly referred to as potential failure mode analysis (PFMA) for dam safety has become routine practice for many in the profession. The process became more formally organized by the US Bureau of Reclamation in the early to mid 1990’s and gained wider industry exposure in the early 2000’s through the publication of FERC’s Engineering Guidelines, Chapter 14 – Dam Safety Perfo...

ASDSO members are called upon to communicate in many different situations: in presentations to colleagues, in testimony before regulatory bodies and legislative committees, and interviews with reporters. Whatever the circumstances, best practices can help to ensure that communication is as effective as possible. Participants will be asked to share experiences ahead of time that will be incorporated into the session, which will focus especially...

Introduction to Armoring Embankment Dams and Earth-Cut Spillways with ACBs Over the past 23 years numerous embankment dams and earth-cut spillways in the United States have been armored with Articulating Concrete Blocks (ACBs) to provide overtopping protection and to extend the life of the structures. With the current focus on evaluating and rehabilitating dams throughout the United States to pass increased design flows, the use of this const...

This webinar will provide participants with an understanding of the hidden dangers at low head dams and effective strategies for improving public safety. The instructors will illustrate their presentation with several examples drawn from their own experiences as hydraulic/civil engineers, expert witnesses, authors and engineering designers. Lessons learned from experience with litigation related to drownings at low head dams will be presented...

Historically, concrete dam analysis focused much of the attention on material property assumptions, which has been and continues to be important. But more recently, the focus is primarily on the modes of failure experienced by these types of dams. This webinar will present a more in-depth review of stability evaluation methods for concrete dams; the basics of which was first presented in the previous webinar entitled “Introduction to Co...

Labyrinth weirs are widely used in spillway rehabilitation to upgrade existing dams to meet updated spillway design flood criteria. In addition to increasing discharge capacity, these weirs are also well suited to regulating upstream pool elevations for flood control or at intake structures. The hydraulic design of a labyrinth spillway requires the consideration of complex flow characteristics and optimization of multiple geometric parameters...

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 procedur...

Effective energy dissipation of flows from outlet works and spillways is an extremely important component in dam safety. Undersized or ineffective structures can lead to damage and failure, possibly endangering the dam or the flow channel and properties downstream. Generalized design criteria for many different types of energy dissipaters and/or stilling basins exist from several different government agencies, both federal and state (including...

It is widely accepted that monitoring programs are important for dam safety. Monitoring programs provide the information necessary to understanding the on-going performance of the dam, as well as the ability to detect a change in this performance, which can be critical in identifying the need to take actions to avoid the consequences of a dam failure. Monitoring programs generally consist of visual observations and measurements of specific pa...

This webinar is designed to provide dam owners, emergency managers, and other relevant stakeholders with information needed to define and estimate loss of life consequences for dam failure scenarios. The course will provide participants with an overview and description of current consequence estimation methodologies, including information on the technical capability and resource requirements for each. The course will highlight the importance...