Whether for flood control, water supply, or recreation, dams play an important role in serving the community and managing a natural resource, but there are hazards and risks to consider when large volumes of water are stored. Sharing information about dams during a flood mapping study can help stakeholders obtain a more complete picture of the risks within a floodplain.
Hydropower is one of the project types in which FERC regulates both the construction and operational phase of a project. Dam safety is a critical part of the Commission's hydropower program and receives top priority. Before projects are constructed, the Commission staff reviews and approves the designs, plans, and specifications of dams, powerhouses, and other structures. During construction, Commission staff engineers frequently inspect a project, and once construction is complete, Commission engineers continue to inspect it on a regular basis. This website provides links to FERC guidelines relative to hydropower dams including recent highlights, regulations, guidelines, manuals, initiatives, Risk-Informed Decision Making (RIDM), security, and case histories
Examples of pre-event exercises and training relating to dams and dam emergencies that were conducted prior to Hurricane Matthew in 2016 to help stakeholders better understand pre-event exercises and training efforts that will help them respond to potential dam emergencies.
Decision Support System for Water Infrastructure Security Human Consequence Module (DSS-WISETM HCOM) is an analytical module for automated assessment of the human consequences of dam-break floods. The National Center for Computational Hydroscience and Engineering (NCCHE) and the University of Mississippi developed the module with funding provided by the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) through a contract with Argonne National Laboratory.
DSS-WISE Lite is a web-based, automated two-dimensional dam-break flood modeling and mapping capability developed by the National Center for Computational Hydroscience and Engineering (NCCHE), the University of Mississippi. The development of the web-based tool and its operation and maintenance is supported by the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
Secure, web-based graphical user interface and map server providing analytical capabilities and a decision support system for dam/levee security.
This DVD has a suite of ArcGIS tools designed to support the development of simplifed dam break studies, Risk Mapping, Assessment and Planning (Risk MAP) datasets, loss of life assessments, Emergency Action Plans (EAPs), and EAP map panel creation. This version of GeoDam-BREACH can be used for various workfows including: Simplifed Dam Break Studies, Risk MAP Datasets, Loss of Life Assessment, EAP Map Panel Creation, and EAP Development. The Users Guide is a part of the CD. Dam Safety offcials across America is the targeted audience.