2025 USSD Annual Conference & Exhibition Sessions

The engineering and management practices for levees is rapidly evolving and the U.S. is investing more into levees than in past.  Since Hurricane Katrina in 2005, there has been a national paradigm shift on levees with an emphasis on reducing the impacts of flooding through improved understanding and assessment of levee performance and implementation of practices to better manage risk associated with levees.  Over this timeframe, there has been several watershed moments:  Recommendations for a National Levee Safety Program (2009), establishment of a National Levee Database, and enhancement of levee design and construction practices through lessons learned on levee performance.  In the past, USSD has played a pivotal role facilitating these discussions and providing opportunities for effective technical engagement and exchange.  Currently, there is a great opportunity for USSD to continue to play this pivotal role. There are several ongoing, industry-wide impactful activities including the development of the first ever edition of the National Levee Safety Guidelines and the design and construction of billions of dollars of levees related infrastructure in coastal and riverine environments.  The development of National Levee Safety Guidelines requires a board technical collaboration among the levee community of practice and will also represent a shift to a set of more consistent levee practices.  Based on the current levels of levee infrastructure investment, there are many lessons learned and to be captured and shared. USSD Levee Committee held three levee safety workshops:  2009, 2010, and 2013.  These were workshops were well attended and centered around the outcomes of the Recommendations for a National Levee Safety Program.  Given the unprecedented levels of levee related activities, it is a perfect time to host another round of technical engagement workshops.

The Young Professionals (YP) Committee is excited to continue on the success of their 2024 workshop held in Seattle. During the 2024 workshop, attendees sharpened their technical writing and data presentation skills and enhanced their networking skills. Building on feedback from the 2024 workshop, the YP Committee aims to make these topics accessible for all conference attendees and build on previous learnings. This workshop will include a module on technical writing, expanding on what was discussed in 2024. Technical writing is paramount to the work in the dam industry. During this workshop, the technical writing module will be focused on scope writing, writing technical descriptions of data, and general tips and tricks for better technical writing. This workshop will also include a module on public speaking, which can be intimidating for many. Clear communication is also important to convey information to owners, regulators, and consultants.  Attendees will be given the opportunity to learn tips for and work on improving their public speaking skills during this module. One final key focus will be on goal setting and the importance of taking charge of one’s career. Goal setting is key to career success, and while many people have heard of “S.M.A.R.T.” goals (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound), setting them can be difficult. A third module will assist attendees to set a goal for the conference as a way to start developing the habit of setting effective goals.   Lastly, while not a main focus, an element of networking will be brought into this workshop. The YP Committee observed that providing attendees an opportunity to get to know each other at the beginning of the conference improved their overall conference experience.

This workshop will guide participants through the process of scoping structural analyses for concrete structures to be used in the risk informed decision-making process .  It will begin with understanding available data and the decision-making framework. Event trees for a range of potential failure modes will be used to illustrate the failure progression and assist in identifying key considerations and data gaps for a risk-informed approach to analysis. We will talk briefly about available analysis methods for a scalable approach to structural analyses, when they are appropriate, and required validation. Participants will leave the workshop with a systematic approach to scoping and evaluation of concrete structures as they relate to complex dam safety projects and risk informed decisions.

The Hydrologic Engineering Center (HEC) of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is pleased to introduce an advanced integration tool designed to simulate sediment transport from upstream watersheds through channels and into reservoirs. This tool specifically targets watershed sediment management, natural resources conservation planning, evaluation of water quality best management practices (BMPs), and determination of total maximum daily loads (TMDLs). This significant enhancement equips the HEC's Hydrologic Modeling System (HEC-HMS) with capabilities to accurately calculate surface soil erosion, channel sediment erosion and deposition, and reservoir siltation. HEC-HMS now incorporates upstream sediment time-series inflow data, reflecting future land use and climate change impacts, including the post-wildfire effects, for comprehensive reservoir sediment analysis. This approach replaces traditional reservoir input methods such as flow-sediment rating curves, offering a more dynamic and accurate means of assessing sediment transport and deposition. The primary objective of this workshop is to leverage the advanced sediment modeling methods within HEC-HMS to compute surface erosion, reach routing, and reservoir trap efficiency. The workshop is structured around two key components: 1) Informative Lectures: Participants will gain an in-depth understanding of sediment transport processes across watersheds. Topics will include surface erosion sediment equations, sediment transport functions, and reservoir trap efficiency equations implemented in HEC-HMS. 2 )Hands-On Training: Participants will engage in developing a comprehensive long-term sediment model, which involves parameter estimation, calibration, and practical application of HEC-HMS. By the end of the workshop, attendees will possess the skills necessary to effectively utilize HEC-HMS for watershed-scale sediment analysis, significantly enhancing their capabilities in watershed sediment management. This workshop provides a unique opportunity for professionals to stay at the forefront of sediment management technology and apply these methods to real-world scenarios.

During a Dam Failure, an Emergency Action Plan (EAP) serves as a detailed guide to aid responders in making timely and lifesaving choices. Knowing what to do in stressful situations when faced with making complex decisions under pressure is key to staying calm and under control. This four-hour detailed workshop will be divided into two sections, an initial overview presentation and an interactive dam failure EAP tabletop with multiple exercises and scenarios. There is no experience necessary, and no materials are required. Participants will gain a greater understanding of dam failures, necessary EAP details, incident command structure, and proactive vs. reactive response. Overall, attendees will leave the session being better prepared if they are ever faced with a partial or full dam failure.   The initial presentation portion will provide participants with information on typical dam failure mechanisms, types of dam breaches, an outline of EAP levels based on failure stage, what to do and who to call at each level, and specific response actions if no EAP is available.  In the second portion of the workshop, participants will utilize the information provided during the initial presentation (in addition to incident command leadership structure, proactive response, and direct communication) to immerse themselves into a large dam failure emergency while working as a team to understand various roles and actions to save a dam and save lives downstream. Post large event failure scenario, a debrief will occur with an overview and lessons learned. The larger team will then be subdivided into smaller groups. Each subgroup will engage in smaller simulated dam failure events, each with different response levels.    The workshops' goal is to educate participants, practice emergency management skills needed during a dam failure response, and provide lessons learned based on actual and simulated experiences.

This is an intermediate to advanced workshop on the application of 1D/2D modeling of surface water flow for water and tailings dam failure projects. The workshop provides rigorous and step-by-step overview of dam breach or failure analysis. In addition, the workshop discusses preparation of the corresponding Emergency Action Plans (EAP) and documentation. The class is designed to be general and is not a review of any specific computer software package. It covers the following general topics: - Legal issues, hazard classification, supervising agencies and definition of dam failure/safety; - Dam failure modes and various hydrologic loading scenarios for dam breach analysis; - Tradeoffs in the selection of representative models of the dam failure phenomena; - Physical parameters of the phenomena; - Numerical parameters, stability and model troubleshooting; - Model calibration and sensitivity analysis, common mistakes in preparation of inundation maps; and - Review of the deliverables for EAPs.

The objectives of this workshop are to improve the understanding of issues related to evaluating aging dam infrastructure with a sustainability focus by considering the economic, financial, environmental, policy, climate change, and regulatory aspects that underpin the decision to rehabilitate or remove dams and other water storage infrastructure. The workshop will enhance the understanding of sustainable decision making associated with aging dam infrastructure by: Examining the economic and financial implications of decision-making for rehabilitating or decommissioning dams; Discussing policy and regulatory aspects of dam decommissioning, environmental stewardship and sustainability; Participating in an interactive activity that illustrates the decision making process including sustainability considerations.