Committee on Monitoring of Dams and Their Foundations

Purpose: To provide technical support to USSD, focusing on the role of monitoring the stability and operational performance of water resource structures. See the current Terms of Reference for the Committee, which is included below, for further discussion/information.

Committee Membership: Current membership includes individuals from a variety of different professional organizations, both public and private, representing dam owners, dam regulators, equipment manufacturers and suppliers, and consulting engineers. The annual meetings of the Committee are open to all that have an interest, or a possible interest, in the field of monitoring of dams.

Activities: The following are some of the recent activities of the Committee:

1. The Committee currently has four teams of Committee members that are actively working to prepare white papers on the following topics:
• Development of an Instrumentation Program
• Operation and Maintenance of an Instrumentation System
• Instrumentation Data Management and Analysis
• Routine Instrumented and Visual Monitoring of Dams Based on Potential Failure Modes Analysis


2. 2. The Committee currently has four teams of Committee members that are actively exploring the following topics, to decide if white papers, workshops, and/or other activities should proceed with respect to them:
• Routine Dam Safety Monitoring Training for On-site Dam Operating Personnel (working in conjunction a team from ASDSO)
• New Instrumentation Technologies for Monitoring Dams (currently planning to hold a technical workshop)
• Monitoring of Levees (working in conjunction with the USSD Levees Committee towards development of a white paper)
• Seismic Instrumentation and Monitoring


3. The Committee recently published the following white paper:
• Why Include Instrumentation in Dam Monitoring Programs


4. The Committee responds to requests from other USSD technical committees as well as from ICOLD. At the present time, work is being performed in support of development of an ICOLD Bulletin on Dam Surveillance.



5. Committee members have participated in several USSD Dam Surveillance and Monitoring Workshops.



6. The Committee published General Guidelines for Automated Performance Monitoring of Dams, which includes descriptions of proven ADAS configurations, a generic approach to implementing automated systems, and case histories. While this publication is a few years old at this point, its development and publication was quite a major effort by the Committee.

Joining the Committee: Participation on the Committee offers the opportunity to engage in high level technical discussions and work with other professionals that have different specializations and perspectives that come from different organizations and different types of organizations, and have different experiences in the general field of monitoring of dams. These interactions can be enlightening, as well as interesting. If the prospect of such participation is of interest, or possible interest, then attendance at the next Committee meeting, held at the time of the USSD Annual Meeting and Conference, would be the next logical step, so as to explore further the possibility of joining the Committee. The Committee is always interested in gaining new members, so as to enrich the Committee with their knowledge, experience, interests, and energy. There are no specific qualifications that would restrict professionals that work in, or have an interest in, the area of monitoring of dams from joining the Committee and participating in its activities.

Terms of Reference

USSD is dedicated to advancing the technology of dam engineering, construction, operation, maintenance and dam safety; to fostering socially and environmentally responsible water resources projects; and to promoting awareness of the role of dams in the beneficial and sustainable development of the nation's water resources. The purpose of the Committee on Monitoring Dams and Their Foundations is to provide technical support to the USSD, focusing on the role of monitoring the stability and operational performance of water resource structures.

The Committee believes that a great deal of education is needed to describe the significant role of monitoring in the context of dam safety programs and to establish it's value for detecting, evaluating and responding to dam safety concerns. The Committee accomplishes this by accumulating, compiling, and publishing information for the dam safety community, dam owners, and the public to enhance their knowledge and to promote the safety of dams. These efforts include basic concepts as well as the current state of practice, recent advancements in monitoring techniques, equipment, data analysis, and performance evaluation.

Examples of products produced by the committee include:

The committee is vigilant for appropriate topics to meet the needs of the public and the industry and fosters a healthy and talented membership to bring their expertise to bear.

The committee encourages close and frequent coordination with other USSD technical committees and the Board of Directors, as necessary and appropriate.

The committee stands ready to continue its support of ICOLD.

These Terms of Reference are considered to be a continuous, ongoing and permanent aspect of the overall purpose of USSD, recognizing that monitoring will always be a critical and variable aspect of assuring the stability and the safe performance of dams.

Further information may be obtained by contacting the Committee Chairperson:

Jay N. Stateler, Chairperson Bureau of Reclamation P.O. Box 25007, 86-68360 Denver, CO 80225 Telephone: 303-445-3064 Fax: 303-445-6473 e-mail: jstateler@usbr.gov

Committee Members Pierre Choquet, Vice Chairperson Richard J. Anderson P. Emeruwa Anyanwu Paul E. Booth Jay Cerceo James A. Hamby Christopher Hill James Hummert Jesse Kropelnicki Billie Land John Lemke Jeff Martin Steven Z. Meyerholtz Barry Keith Myers Bruce R. Rogers Rudy Saavedra Manoshree Sundaram Amanda Sutter Travis C. Tutka Olga N. Zabawa