The 2015 USSD Conference theme is Managing Risk and Uncertainty — Ensuring a Sustainable Future for Dams, Levees and Reservoirs. With growth in population and development, many older dams and levees that were constructed to protect agricultural interests are now protecting people and personal property, and are being called upon to provide other benefits such as power generation, recreation and water supply. As a result, the risk associated with many of these structures has increased, bringing new costly challenges for owners to retrofit or modify existing dams and levees in response to the expanded role these structures now play.
Operation of dams and levees involves numerous uncertainties about potential extreme loading conditions, the consequences of failure, the condition of the structures themselves, the effectiveness of established operation and maintenance procedures, and human behavior. Safe operation of these facilities must take into consideration all of these uncertainties and simply meeting established engineering criteria does not necessarily mean that a structure will continue to perform safely. In addition, design and construction of new dams and levees or modifications to existing structures involves uncertainties, particularly with respect to the geological materials upon which the structures are constructed. Design and planning for new construction must take into account these uncertainties and how to equitably share the risk of unforeseen conditions.
Recent failures of coal ash storage reservoirs have highlighted the risks associated with waste impoundments, many of which are classified as low hazard relative to the potential for life loss. Safety of these structures has not always been at the forefront of awareness within the industries they serve, with the unfortunate result being that some do not receive the same level of regular inspection and maintenance as dams constructed for water supply, flood control and power generation. Although many of these impoundments do not pose a significant risk to human life, the economic and environmental consequences of failure can be extremely high.
The theme for this 35th Annual Conference highlights that, while dams and levees are critical components of the nation’s infrastructure, there are always risks and uncertainties associated with ownership and operation of these facilities. Recognizing and effectively managing these risks and uncertainties is critical to ensuring that these structures will continue to provide the societal benefits that we depend on without posing an unacceptable hazard to life, property or the environment.
The Opening Plenary Session on Tuesday morning will include several presentations addressing contemporary topics of interest to dam professionals.
Five Concurrent Technical Sessions on Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday, and a Poster Session Tuesday evening, will feature the presentation of more than 100 technical papers.
On Thursday, three full-day workshops and two half-day workshops will take place. An afternoon field trip will take participants to nearby projects of the Corps of Engineers.
Elena Sossenkina, HDR, will discuss Lessons in Risk Policy Implementation in a Tuesday lunch presentation. USSD 2014 Scholarship recipient Beena Ajmera, Virginia Tech, will provide an update of her research during the Wednesday lunch.
Charles Yoe, Notre Dame of Maryland University Professor and expert on risk analysis, will be the Wednesday dinner speaker. USSD Awards will be presented, including the Outstanding Paper Awards, the President’s Award, and awards for Excellence in the Constructed Project and Lifetime Achievement. The winners of the 2015 USSD Scholarships will also be announced.
