Risk Management for a Portfolio of Dams: On-Demand

There is a growing recognition of the value of using risk assessment as a supplement to traditional engineering approaches to dam safety decision making. This is referred to as a risk-informed approach in which decision making utilizes information obtained from a risk assessment along with other factors, including good engineering practice. Thus, a risk assessment is not the sole basis for a decision, but rather it provides a systematic way of identifying what is important and where uncertainties exist. Risk assessment can also be valuable for justifying the extent and type of risk reduction and the phasing of risk-reduction measures. The first webinar, “Risk Assessment Basics for an Individual Dam,” provided an explanation of the steps involved in performing a risk assessment for an individual dam and how the resulting insights and risk estimates can improve decision making. Examples were provided for evaluating an existing dam and for selecting between risk-reduction alternatives.

This webinar will explain how risk assessment is being used by some owners and regulators to improve the management of dam safety for a portfolio of dams in the context of the owner’s business. The role of risk assessment in strengthening both routine and non-routine dam safety activities will be described. The use of risk assessment for prioritized queues of investigations and risk-reduction measures to achieve more rapid and cost-effective risk reduction will also be described. Examples will be provided of ways in which portfolio risk assessment has led to improving the integration of dam safety with other parts of the owner’s business, such as insurance coverages and increased funding for dam safety.