Safety Featured Items
Publication

2007 Technical Bulletins

In 2007, CDA published a set of technical bulletins to supplement Dam Safety Guidelines. The technical bulletins suggest methodologies and procedures for use by qualified professionals as they carry out dam analyses and safety assessments.

dam safety risk-informed dam analyses safety assessment
Webinar

Analysis and Design of Veneer cover soils for Landfills and Related Waste Containment Systems

This webinar presents an analysis of the common problem of a veneer of cover soil (0.3 to 1.0 m thick) on a geomembrane at a given slope angle and length. The webinar then presents different scenarios that create lower FS-values than the gravitational stresses of the above situation, e.g., equipment loads, seepage forces and seismic loads. As a counterpoint, different scenarios that create higher FS-values also are presented, e.g., toe berms, tapered thicknesses and veneer reinforcement. In this latter category, a subdivision is made between intentional reinforcement (using geogrids or high strength geotextiles) and non-intentional reinforcement (cases where geosynthetics overlay a weak interface within a multi-lined slope).

Factor of Safety Geosynthetics slope stability
Publication

Application of Dam Safety Guidelines to Mining Dams

The new Technical Bulletin: Application of Dam Safety Guidelines to Mining Dams, complements the Dam Safety Guidelines re-published by CDA in 2013 by providing additional explanation of how the concepts described in the guidelines apply to mining dams. The Bulletin identifies some specific issues that should be considered during the design and safety evaluation of both tailings dams and water retention dams used in the mining industry. Available in hard copy only.

dam safety risk-informed dam analyses safety assessment mining dams tailings dams water retention dams
Webpage

Association of State Dam Safety Officials

ASDSO is a national non-profit organization serving state dam safety programs and the broader dam safety community to improve the condition and safety of dams through education and support for state dam safety programs. Largely focused on dams for flood protection, water supply, hydropower, irrigation.

dam safety dam failures dam owners and operators dam safety programs dam safety officials
Publication

Bulletin 101 - Tailings Dams, Transport, Placement, Decantation - Review and Recommendations (1995)

This bulletin describes various methods of tailings transport (slurries vs. dry tailings), tailings placement (cyclone, spigot, paddock, mechanical placement), and decant systems. The bulletin is intended to provide advice for design of these elements based on project-specific characteristics. The bulletin also provides guidance for assessing the water balance of a tailings impoundment.

Tailings Transport Tailings Deposition Design Dam Safety Seepage
Publication

Bulletin 104 - Monitoring of Tailings Dams - Review and Recommendations (1996)

This bulletin concentrates on the difference of approach (relative to water retention dams) necessary when considering the instrumentation for tailing dams. Sound advice is given about the importance of seepage measurements and the need for automation to provide continuous records, methods for measuring the position of the phreatic surface. The difference of approach between embankment dams and tailings dams is shown.

Instrumentation Monitoring Dam Safety
Publication

Bulletin 154 - Dam Safety management. Operational phase of the dam life cycle (2017)

This Bulletin is devoted to the development and the implementation of a dam safety management system for dams in the operational phase of their life cycle. It outlines the general structure of a systems approach to safety management, and strives to develop a system that can address all the interdependencies, and encompass all the arrangements necessary to ensure proper dam safety management. This bulletin is intended to be helpful in developing, implementing, reviewing and improving the management of dam safety at all organizational levels.

Tailings Management Dam Safety Management
Publication

Bulletin 74 - Tailings Dam Safety - Guidelines (1989)

This bulletin is intended primarily for the use of the Regulatory Agencies responsible for the safety of tailings dams, both structurally and environmentally. However, it is also intended to assist the mine operator in understanding the measures that must be adopted to ensure that his tailings dam is safe, both during operation and after rehabilitation. Finally, it should also benefit those individuals or organizations involved in the design, construction, operation, and rehabilitation of tailings dams.

Tailings Management Design Construction Operation Closure Dam Safety
Publication

Bulletin 97 - Tailings Dams - Design of Drainage - Review and Recommendations (1994)

This bulletin discusses various recommended drainage methods for tailings dams.

Drainage Seepage Dam Safety
Publication

CDA Guidelines for Public Safety Around Dams 2011

These Guidelines address the risks of accidents or incidents in which a member of the public encounters a hazard created by the presence or operation of a dam.

public safety dam safety accidents incidents hazard