On-Demand Webinar: Inspection and Assessment of Spillways
Association of State Dam Safety Officials, 2022
The February 2017 incident involving both the principal and auxiliary spillways of Oroville Dam in California brought considerable attention to potential failure modes associated with both structural and unlined spillways. Based on the lessons learned from this event and the subsequent findings of forensic investigations, many dam owners initiated their own spillway assessments.
The goal of this webinar is to provide information to help engineers inspect and assess spillways. It will explain the different types of spillways, discuss their performance requirements, and provide a general historical evolution of typical spillway construction features with an emphasis on common vulnerabilities of older spillways and best practices and defensive measures for modern spillways. Deficiencies and weaknesses in historic spillway designs and how the integrity of spillways can change over time will be highlighted. Checklists to help practitioners identify potential physical factors that can contribute to the failure of structural and unlined spillways will be presented. Recommendations and warning signs for inspectors are discussed.
Key Take-aways:
- Understanding different types of spillways and their limitations.
- Historical evolution of spillway construction details.
- Common vulnerabilities of existing spillways.
- Modern spillway defensive measures.
- Approach to inspecting and assessing spillways.
Access Training Here
Speaker(s): Paul G. Schweiger
Revision ID: 2340
Revision Date: 08/19/2022