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...

Tolerable risk guidelines are used to guide the process of evaluating whether or not dam safety risks are low enough. They provide a means of relating dam safety risks to other risks to which people are exposed as a result of technological hazards. While these guidelines should not be used as the only basis for dam safety decisions, they can play a useful role in making the case for a decision. This webinar will provide both examples of pract...

This webinar will focus on the many applications of RCC in dam engineering, including RCC dams, RCC overtopping protection, and RCC use in cofferdams. Other topics to be covered will be RCC for raising and rehabilitating existing concrete dams and RCC for grade control structures and stilling basin erosion protection. Emphasis will be placed on small to medium volume RCC projects including hints on cost effective design and and estimating. In...

Although major dams are not designed or intended to fail, the unexpected occurs with tragic consequences. In the unlikely event of such a tragedy, the legal system provides remedies to compensate the victims and their families for their losses. While each state is a separate jurisdiction free to adopt its own legal rules, regulations and theories of relief, they will generally utilize the common-law theories of negligence and strict liability...

Evaluation of potential seepage failure modes in embankment dams and in particular around outlet works penetrations is a very important aspect of dam safety evaluations. Assessing potential seepage failure modes typically requires designing and evaluating investigation and instrumentation programs, and a variety of engineering analyses. Experience has shown that adverse seepage and piping conditions can develop and remain difficult to detect u...