Dam Owner Academy Self-Paced Training: Intermediate Dam Owner Awareness
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This product is recommended for those responsible for day-to-day oversight of dam operations and maintenance, HOA maintenance person or company, and county/city staff responsible for dam maintenance.
This training includes parts of introductory topics from some of ASDSO’s previously recorded technical webinars. Participants will view videos and take a short quiz on each topic. If the user completes each section and passes the quiz for each topic a certificate of completion is available.
Topics include:
- History of Dam Safety Governance in the US
- Introduction to Embankment Dams
- Intro to Gravity Dams
- Introduction to Inspecting Dams for Owners and Operators
- Developing Operations and Maintenance Manuals for Dams
- Responding to Dam Emergencies
- Human Factors in the Edenville Dam Failure
There are no Professional Development Hours for this product.
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The Dam Owner Academy is a series of videos to educate and inform owners on all aspects of operating and maintaining a dam safely. The videos in this product cover many basic dam owner fundamentals. Please note that some of these videos are older but the content is still valuable. Please watch for updated content as it becomes available.
History of Dam Safety Governance in the US
Open to view video.
Open to view video.
Speaker: Keith Ferguson, P.E., D.WRE, HDR Engineering, Inc.
This webinar was recorded on January 11, 2022.
This webinar will review the history of dam safety governance development in the US from 1876 to present day. The governance development timeline will place key failures and incidents into perspective and show how such events triggered state and federal laws and the development of risk analysis methods and best practices that form a key cornerstone of dam safety practice in the US today. A key discussion during the webinar will be the concentration of dam failures that occurred in the 1970’s that led to the development of federal guidelines for dam safety, as well as the founding of ASDSO. Key failures, including Lower San Fernando Dam, Teton Dam, and Kelly Barnes Lake Dam, which resulted in almost 600 fatalities and over $1B in damages, will be discussed.
The origins of risk analysis related to dams and dam safety trace back to the mid-1960’s. The initial vision for risk that was presented as part of the 2nd Terzaghi lecture (delivered by Arthur Casagrande in 1965) will start our exploration of the risk analysis and risk assessment timeline embedded within the overall US dam safety governance system. The provision for risk analysis that was embedded within the first federal guidelines for dam safety and the Reclamation Safety of Dams Act of 1978 (PL 95-578) will be discussed, along with how risk analyses emerged within various federal agencies (USBR, USACE, TVA, and the FERC) and the expanding role of risk within state dam safety programs.
Key Take-aways:
1. Key Failures and Incidents timeline.
2. Dam Safety Governance timeline.
3. Factors leading to the formation of ASDSO and USSD.
4. Risk analysis and assessment timeline.
5. The risk analysis pioneers (Casagrande, Whitman, USBR).
Quiz- History of Dam Safety Governance in the US
5 Questions | 3 attempts | 3/5 points to pass
5 Questions | 3 attempts | 3/5 points to pass
Please take the quiz. You must get 3 out of 5 questions correct to move forward.
Introduction to Embankment Dams
Open to view video.
Open to view video.
Speaker: John W. France, P.E., D.GE, D.WRE, President, JWF Consulting, LLC
This is a recording of the June 13, 2017 webinar
The overwhelming majority of dams in the world, and also in the United States, are embankment dams. This webinar is intended as an overview of embankment dams, to serve as an introduction for those relatively new to dam safety and a refresher for the more experienced practitioner. The webinar will begin with a review of the history of embankment dams from antiquity to today and comments on today’s inventory of dams. Types of embankment dams and embankment dam failure modes will then be reviewed, followed by discussions of design and construction considerations. Finally, approaches to the evaluation of existing embankment dams and common maintenance concerns will be described. After the webinar, attendees will have an overall understanding of the universe of embankment dams, how they are intended to work, problems that can develop, and design, construction, and maintenance approaches to address those problems. Although the webinar is focused on dams, many of the concepts, failure modes, and design, construction, and maintenance issues may be applicable to earthen levees.
Key Take-aways:
An understanding of the long history of embankment dams.
An understanding of the different configurations for embankment dams.
An understanding of potential failure modes for embankment dams.
A general understanding of design and construction considerations for embankment dams.
An understanding of maintenance concerns for embankment dams.
Quiz- Introduction to Embankment Dams
5 Questions | 3 attempts | 3/5 points to pass
5 Questions | 3 attempts | 3/5 points to pass
Please take the quiz. You must get 3 out of 5 questions correct to move forward.
Intro to Gravity Dams
Open to view video.
Open to view video.
Speaker: Robert A. Kline, Jr., P.E., Vice President, Gannett Fleming, Inc.
This is a recording of the July 10, 2012 webinar.
With the development in Europe in the later 1800s of a rational method for evaluating structural stability combined with practical experience, U.S. engineers gained greater confidence in increasing the structural height and loadings on masonry dams, as they were known then. This led to record setting heights in the U.S. for several gravity dams built for water supply purposes for major U.S. cities.
As records were being set, a few dramatic concrete gravity dam failures occurred which sparked wide debate concerning whether or not rational methods adequately accounted for various destabilizing external forces acting on a gravity dam. Many practicing engineers agreed that although estimates and likely ranges can be assigned to these forces, for some, exact values are indeterminate. Recognition was also given to the variable nature of material strength properties. This led to the adoption of the use of safety factors to better account for the indeterminate and variable nature of such factors.
Since many U.S. gravity dams in service today were constructed decades ago while design practices were still evolving, historical background for design and construction practices will be presented to provide today’s practitioners with a better understanding of potential vulnerabilities in these structures. Select noteworthy gravity dam failures will be presented as well with an emphasis on lessons learned from these failures.
Quiz- Intro to Gravity Dams
5 Questions | 3 attempts | 3/5 points to pass
5 Questions | 3 attempts | 3/5 points to pass
Please take the quiz. You must get 3 out of 5 questions correct to move forward.
Introduction to Inspecting Dams for Owners, Operators
Open to view video.
Open to view video.
Speaker: Paul G. Schweiger, P.E., Gannet Fleming, Inc.
This is a recording of the July 18, 2013 webinar.
This webinar 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.
Quiz- Introduction to Inspecting Dams for Owners, Operators
6 Questions | 3 attempts | 4/6 points to pass
6 Questions | 3 attempts | 4/6 points to pass
Please take the quiz. You must get 4 out of 6 questions correct to move forward.
Developing Operations and Maintenance Manuals for Dams
Open to view video.
Open to view video.
Speaker: Steve Jamieson, P.E., Principal, W.W. Wheeler and Associates, Inc.
This is a recording of the May 13, 2014 webinar.
This webinar will provide participants with information on the importance of preparing operations and maintenance (O&M) manuals for dams. It will include an overview of some of the key federal agency and state requirements and formats for dam O&M manuals. Operations and maintenance guidelines will be presented for both embankment and concrete dams and key dam appurtenances, such as spillways and outlet works. Many examples will be provided that illustrate the key elements of a comprehensive dam O&M manual including: O&M responsibilities, routine and periodic inspections, instrumentation and monitoring, dam operations, maintenance guidelines, interaction with emergency actions, and interaction with risk assessments.
Quiz- Developing Operations and Maintenance Manuals for Dams
6 Questions | 3 attempts | 4/6 points to pass
6 Questions | 3 attempts | 4/6 points to pass
Please take the quiz. You must get 4 out of 6 questions correct to move forward.
EAP Basics
Open to view video.
Open to view video.
Speaker: John W. France, P.E., D.GE, D.WRE, President, JWF Consulting, LLC
This is a recording of the June 5, 2012 webinar.
This webinar is intended to provide an introduction to emergency action plans (EAPs) for dam safety emergency planners, dam owners, dam regulators, and consultants. The webinar will include information that will be useful to participants in developing new EAPs and improving the effectiveness of existing EAPs. The agenda is structured to answer the following key questions: Why are EAPs important? What are the important components of an effective EAP? How do EAPs relate to other aspects of emergency planning? How do you develop, update, and test an EAP?
Quiz- EAP Basics
5 Questions | 3 attempts | 3/5 points to pass
5 Questions | 3 attempts | 3/5 points to pass
Please take the quiz. You must get 3 out of 5 questions correct to move forward.
Responding to Dam Emergencies
Open to view video.
Open to view video.
Speakers: Paul Schweiger, Gannett Fleming Inc. and Greg Richards, Gannett Fleming, Inc.
This is a recording of the December 15, 2020 webinar.
Many dam failures have been averted by dam owners and engineers taking quick and effective action to intervene and stop an active dam failure from progressing. The focus of this webinar is to present the most common failure modes at dams and provide information on actions that can be taken to prevent or delay each failure mode. Case studies will be used to show examples of successful interventions. Actions that could potentially do harm and make conditions worse will also be discussed. The seminar will conclude with an overview of the new “Dam Intervention Toolbox” and how this interactive resource can be used as a companion to an Emergency Action Plan to help dam owners be better prepared to respond to a dam emergency.
Quiz- Responding to Dam Emergencies
6 Questions | 3 attempts | 4/6 points to pass
6 Questions | 3 attempts | 4/6 points to pass
Please take the quiz. You must get 4 out of 6 questions correct to move forward.
Human Factors in the Edenville Dam Failure
Open to view video.
Open to view video.
Speakers: Irfan Alvi, President & Chief Engineer, Alvi Associates, Inc.
This is a recording of the October 22, 2022 webinar.
On May 19, 2020, Edenville Dam, located in central Michigan, suddenly failed when its lake reached a historically high level, despite the dam not overtopping. When Edenville Dam failed, the resulting breach flow resulted in overtopping failure of the downstream Sanford Dam, and necessitated evacuation of about 11,000 people. While the resulting property damage was estimated to be in excess of $200 million, the evacuation was successful in preventing serious injuries and loss of life. This webinar will serve as a “Part 2” continuation of a prior ASDSO webinar, “Findings of the Independent Forensic Investigation of the Failures of Edenville and Sanford Dams, Michigan,” which presented an overview of the findings by the five-person Independent Forensic Team. This webinar will expand on the discussion of human factors contributing to these dam failures, beginning with the design and construction of the projects and continuing through the decision-making during the emergency response.
Quiz- Human Factors in the Edenville Dam Failure
5 Questions | 3 attempts | 3/5 points to pass
5 Questions | 3 attempts | 3/5 points to pass
Please take the quiz. You must get 3 out of 5 questions correct to move forward.
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The Dam Owner Academy is designed to educate and inform owners on all aspects of operating and maintaining dam safety.
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