Dam Safety and Rehabilitation

Instructors

Christopher A. Johnson, P.E., CFM.
Mr. Johnson is a Project Manager and Senior Hydrologist with Dodson & Associates, Inc. (Houston, Texas). Mr. Johnson holds a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Texas A&M University and is a registered Professional Engineer in Texas and Wisconsin. He is also a Certified Floodplain Manager.

Mr. Johnson has over 20 years of experience with a wide variety of water resources engineering projects. His experience covers virtually all phases of the design process, including feasibility studies, planning studies, preliminary design, preparation of bidding documents, and forensic analysis. He has provided hydrologic and hydraulic engineering services for reservoirs, water supply systems, drainage and flood control facilities, wastewater systems, and pump stations. Mr. Johnson has experience in environmental evaluation, hydrologic and hydraulic analysis of service and emergency spillways, condition inspection, Emergency Action Plan preparation, and rehabilitation projects associated with dams.

Course Description

With the nation's aging infrastructure becoming more and more a focus of serious attention, concerns over dams across the United States are beginning to arise. Many involved with design, operation, and maintenance of damns may not realize their legal responsibilities. Who is responsible for maintaining existing dams? What are the causes of dam failure? What are the consequences of a failure? Who is responsible if a dam fails? What can be done to prevent failure? How is a dam inspection performed?

This seminar identifies the current status of existing dams in the United States, examines the basic fundamentals of performing a dam inspection, explains how to perform a dam safety analysis, and identifies various rehabilitation practices.

This seminar is an introductory course for consulting engineers, and state and local government engineers who may have minimal to moderate experience with the design of small dams (i.e., dams engineered for subdivision amenity lakes, farm ponds, detention/retention reservoirs, and other dams which would fall under state and local regulations but would not be federally regulated), and are concerned with the safety of existing or proposed dam structures. Likewise, this seminar should provide useful information to dam owners and supervisors of dam maintenance and operations of such dams.

Topics covered in this seminar include a history of dams, an overview of dam safety criteria in the United States, identifying the consequences of failure, determining the safety of existing dams, and developing techniques for rehabilitating aging dam structures.

Participants learn the principles necessary to identify and mitigate the risks associated with a potential dam failure. They are better able to identify potential problems in an existing dam, perform dam-safety and dam-failure analyses, and identify means to rehabilitate a deteriorating structure.

Seminar Benefits

• Consulting engineers will obtain current and concise information to assist their clients.
• Public officials will be able to manage local efforts and/or consultants more effectively.
• Owners, supervisors, and operations and maintenance representatives will have a more comprehensive knowledge of risks posed by dams which will enable them to better manage and operate facilities under their day-to-day responsibility.

Learning Objectives

• Better understand federal, state, and local safety criteria governing existing dams
• Have a knowledge of the procedures necessary to perform a reasonable inspection of an existing dam
• Be able to identify methods of performing dam safety and dam failure analyses
• Better understand the efforts necessary to mitigate the risk of dam failure through rehabilitation of existing infrastructure
• The modes and causes of dam failure
• Design flood hydrology
• Planning for risk
• The means used to rehabilitate the various components of a dam structure

Who Should Attend

Consulting engineers and city, county, and state engineers charged with oversight in dam safety issues. Dam owners and supervisors of dam maintenance and operations. A basic understanding of hydrology and hydraulics is beneficial. A detailed understanding of these aspects of engineering is not a prerequisite. However, it is recommended that participants bring a calculator capable of performing mathematical and scientific calculations.

Summary Outline

Day One

• Purpose of Dams
• History of Dams
• Types of Dams
     - Dams
     - Outlet Works
• Current Status of Existing Dams
• Legislation & Liability
• Dam Safety Criteria (with workshop)
     - Classification of Dams
     - Design Floods
     - Freeboard
• Consequences of Failure
• Inspection of Existing Dams (with workshop)
• Identifying Deficiencies
     - Structural
     - Geotechnical
     - Outlet Works
     - Examination of Maintenance Practices

Day Two

• Hydrology for Dam Safety
     - Freeboard and Capacity
     - Failure Analysis (with workshop)
     - Sunny Day Failures
     - Critical Storage Failures
     - PMF Failures
• Emergency Action Plans (with group discussion workshop)
• Rehabilitation
     - Growing Concern
     - Challenges Ahead
     - NRCS Small Dams
• NRCS Case Study
• Problems & Remedies
• Geotechnical Issues & Maintenance
• Miscellaneous Case Studies