Lessons Learned

A complete and thorough dam record is essential.

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All dams need an operable means of drawing down the reservoir.

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Concrete gravity dams should be evaluated to accommodate full uplift.

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Concrete-lined spillways are vulnerable to significant damage and potential reservoir breach if flows are not safely contained within the conveyance structure.

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Dam failure sites offer an important opportunity for education and memorialization.

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Dam incidents and failures can fundamentally be attributed to human factors.

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Dam owners, engineers and regulators need to address public safety at dams.

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Dams in cold regions should account for ice.

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Dams located in seismic areas should be evaluated for liquefaction, cracking, potential fault offsets, deformations, and settlement due to seismic loading.

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Dams should be thoroughly assessed for risk using a periodic risk review process including a site inspection, review of original design/construction/performance, and analysis of potential failure modes and consequences of failure. The completed review supports a case for taking risk-informed actions at individual dams and for prioritizing actions for an inventory of dams.

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