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Event
AEG OR Chapter JANUARY 3rd 2018 Meeting (Joint AEG/ASCE Meeting)
The Geotechnical State of Oregon's Dams
PURCHASE OF TICKETS USING BROWN PAPER TICKETS: Ticket sales stop after Friday December 29th.
(At the door payments in Cash or Checks only.)
6:00 Social Hour
6:45 Dinner (buffet style)
7:30 Presentation
PRESENTATION:
Speaker: Keith Mills, PE, GE, Oregon Water Resources Department
ABSTRACT:
Dams are very important infrastructure and a key part of Oregon's water supply resiliency. Most of these dams are earth-embankment, and many of these were constructed well over 50 years ago. Our understanding of hydrologic, geologic and geotechnical risk has changed greatly since many of these dams were built. This presentation will focus on seismic, internal erosion (piping), slope stability and spillway erosion issues and deficiencies that may exist at some of these dams. Current practice with regard to identifying, confirming and addressing these potential deficiencies will be discussed.
The largest dams in the state are owned and/or regulated by the Federal Government, while the Oregon Water Resources Department (OWRD) regulates the greatest number of dams. Most dams owned or regulated by Federal Agencies have been analyzed and generally rehabilitated for deficiencies. OWRD has one of the oldest dam safety programs, since the 1928 failure of the Saint Francis dam in California. A small number of state regulated dams have been rehabilitated, with analysis showing that after rehabilitation dams will perform well under all anticipated loading conditions. Many other dams have received little repair or rehabilitation attention since construction, and were mostly designed as homogenous fill. Recent inspections and excavations into these older dams indicate that many contain material other than what is shown in the design. Improving safety will require addressing the backlog of dams with deficiencies, and is described in Oregon's 2017 Integrated Water Resources Strategy. To be successful, modification of authorities and additional engineering analyses are both essential.
SPEAKER BIO:
Keith is the State Engineer for the Oregon Water Resources Department in Salem. In that role, he is the manager of Oregon's dam safety program. He began working for that agency as the dam safety engineer in 2011, and is actively involved with the Association of State Dam Safety Officials (ASDSO), including co-organizing a 2016 Seismic Safety of Dams conference in Sacramento. He has been to over 250 dams, many once each year.
He received a BS in Forest Engineering and an MS in Civil Engineering (Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering) from Oregon State University. His specialty has been the stability of natural slopes and embankments. For much of his career he worked for the Oregon Department of Forestry on geotechnical applications to forestlands and forest operations. He has been to almost every named place in the great state of Oregon, and enjoys trying to understand local geology, meteorology hydrology and vegetation and their effects on water and transportation infrastructure.
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LocationIBU Public House (View)
4439 SW Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway
Portland, OR 97221
United States
Categories
| Kid Friendly: Yes! |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: No |
| Wheelchair Accessible: Yes! |
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Contact
| Owner: Oregon AEG |
| On BPT Since: Nov 06, 2016 |
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| Chris Humphrey |
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