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The
National Dam Safety Association Presents Annual Awards
Lexington, KY 9/22/2003
At each annual conference, the Association of State Dam Safety Officials
recognizes individuals who have made outstanding contributions to
the field of dam safety. This year's award winners were recognized
on September 9th, at the 2003 ASDSO Awards Banquet in Minneapolis.
ASDSO National Award of Merit: All of the ASDSO Past Presidents
For outstanding leadership and service to ASDSO and to the cause
of dam safety, the ASDSO National Award of Merit was presented to
the Association,s past presidents: Joseph J. Ellam (1984-1986),
Charles Gardner (1986-1987), J. Bruce Pickens (1987-1988), Jeris
A. Danielson (1988-1989), Martin J. Stralow (1989-1990), Dan R.
Lawrence (1990-1992), Raul F. Silva (1992-1994), James D. Simons
(1994-1995), George E. Mills (1995-1996), Alan E. Pearson (1996-1997),
Brian R. Long (1997-1998), Brad Iarossi (1998-1999), Frances E.
Fiegle II (1999-2000), Robert H. Dalton (2000-2001), and John H.
Moyle (2001-2002).
West Regional Award of Merit: Darrel Temple
Darrel Temple, Supervisory Research Hydraulic Engineer and Laboratory
Director for the USDA Agricultural Research Service Plant Science
and Water Conservation Research Laboratory in Stillwater, received
an ASDSO West Regional Award of Merit.
Mr. Temple has had an outstanding 27-year career with the ARS, resulting
in more than 40 peer-reviewed publications. He has been particularly
active in hydraulic research and application to dam safety issues
involving earthen spillways, embankment overtopping, and rehabilitation
of existing structures.
Temple has received numerous USDA Superior Service Awards for his
contributions at the Hydraulic Engineering Research Unit. In his
role as Research Leader, he has been responsible for guiding the
long-range research planning efforts of individual scientists. He
has directed the research program toward determining and quantifying
the failure processes associated with earth embankments and spillways
subjected to hydraulic stresses, and toward development of channel
stabilization measures.
Temple published Ag Handbook 667, Stability Design of Grass-Lined
Open Channels, a state-of-the-art guide for using the effective
stress approach to design of grass-lined open channels. He
has extended this concept to predicting the time of failure of grass
linings in earth auxiliary spillways, and led the effort that demonstrated
a three-phase progression of failure in these spillways. The
resulting computational model was incorporated into the Natural
Resources Conservation Service dam design/analysis software SITES,
which is used by many federal and state agencies and by consulting
engineers.
Mr. Temple has also been professionally active in the dam safety
community through his research, leadership of a nationally and internationally
recognized hydraulic laboratory, meeting presentations; professional
peer-reviewed journal papers, leadership of workshops related to
dam safety, and involvement in societies such as ASDSO, the American
Society of Civil Engineers, and the American Society of Agricultural
Engineers.
West Regional Award of Merit: The Lower Colorado River Authority
(LCRA)
A second West Regional Award of Merit was awarded to the Lower Colorado
River Authority (LCRA) for its outstanding commitment "to do
the right thing" in its multiple roles as a provider of
water and electric services, flood protection and community services.
Formed in 1934 by the Texas Legislature, LCRA constructed six hydroelectric
dams - Buchanan, Inks, Wirtz, Starcke, Mansfield, and Tom Miller
- between 1930 and 1951. These dams are collectively known
as the Highland Lakes dams.
Following the National Dam Safety Phase I Inspection Program, which
called for significant safety improvements to two of these dams,
LCRA initiated a program to evaluate all six dams with respect to
current hydrologic, structural and geotechnical criteria. In
1990, LCRA began a 15-year, $50 million Modernization Program directed
at five of the six dams.
LCRA has taken a proactive role in assisting local governments and
communities. When the financially strapped City of Austin
was unable to rebuild its twice-failed Tom Miller dam, LCRA corrected
design problems, rebuilt and then operated the dam.
LCRA spearheaded a floodplain management initiative, the Texas Colorado
River Floodplain Coalition, which discourages development downstream
of dams. LCRA conducts public forums after floods to address
community concerns.
Although LCRA historically has included dam safety as part of its
operations, a formal in-house program was not established until
2000. The program, currently staffed by two full-time employees,
serves as LCRA's primary liaison with state and federal dam safety
authorities. Besides maintaining a rigorous dam inspection
and evaluation schedule, the Dam Safety Program staff helps ensure
the continued security of LCRA structures by staying informed on
homeland security issues. Other initiatives include archiving
documentation on LCRA dams in an electronic library, developing
and maintaining Standing Operating Procedures and Emergency Action
plans, evaluating gate operations, and reviewing instrumentation
at all dam facilities.
Midwest Regional Award of Merit: Terry Hampton
For numerous contributions to dam safety and for outstanding service
to ASDSO, Terry L. Hampton, Senior Water Resources Engineer for
Gannett-Fleming, received the 2003 Midwest Region Award of Merit.
Mr. Hampton received his B.S.C.E. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison,
and is a registered Professional Engineer in Wisconsin and Michigan.
At Gannett Fleming, Mr. Hampton participates in legal proceedings
as an expert witness; provides design, analysis, and construction
management services for water-related projects; provides quality
assurance/quality control services for structural and geotechnical
designs and performs risk analyses and inspections and hydraulic,
hydrologic, and environmental engineering investigations.
He has been active in ASDSO for many years, and has served on the
Affiliate Member Advisory Committee since 1987. As chairman
of this committee from 1998-2002, Mr. Hampton served on the ASDSO
Board of Directors. He has contributed greatly to the success
of ASDSO's annual conferences by serving on seven conference planning
committees, and as Moderator Coordinator from 1989-1998. He
also served as an ASDSO affiliate representative on the National
Dam Safety Information Resources Committee.
Mr. Hampton has contributed his time and talents to a number of
other organizations, including the Electric Power Research Institute
(EPRI), the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the American
Board of Engineering Technology (ABET), Wisconsin Association of
Consulting Engineers, the Interagency Committee on Dams, and the
United States Society on Dams.
Southeast Regional Award of Merit: Jonathan T. Phillippe
Jonathan T. Phillippe, recently retired Director of the Virginia
Dam Safety Division, was honored by the representatives of ASDSO,s
Southeast Region.
Mr. Phillippe graduated from Virginia Polytechnic Institute with
B. S. and M.S. degrees in Civil Engineering, and is a licensed professional
engineer and land surveyor in Virginia.
During his 36 years of professional experience, Mr. Phillippe worked
in both state and private sectors. Prior to joining Virginia,s
Dam Safety Program in 1996, he provided consulting engineering and
land surveying services to both public and private clients. He
also taught engineering and surveying subjects at various institutions
of higher education.
Mr. Phillippe has contributed his time and talents to ASDSO as Virginia's
state representative, a member of the Board of Directors, and as
2002-2003 Secretary/Treasurer. He also served on ASDSO,s Strategic
Planning, Public Awareness, and Executive committees. He is
continuing his service to the goals of ASDSO by speaking to homeowners,
associations and other groups about dam safety and dam maintenance
issues.
Southeast Regional Award of Merit: Gwinnett County, Georgia
Department of Public Utilities
ASDSO's Southeast Region also recognized Gwinnett County, Georgia
for its commitment to protecting public safety from the dangers
of dam failure.
Gwinnett County has taken the lead in Georgia in upgrading existing
USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service dams and regulating
other small earth dams. One of its projects, increasing the
spillway capacity of Yellow River No. 14 dam, was the first in the
nation to receive federal funding under recently passed legislation
concerning upgrades to small watershed dams.
Construction of residential developments in areas below Gwinnett
County's fourteen NRCS flood control dams has increased their hazard
potential classification. Six dams were originally designed
as low-hazard, and eight were designed as intermediate-hazard structures;
now six of these dams have been classified by the Georgia Safe Dams
Program as high-hazard-potential dams. Dam breach studies
are planned for seven of the remaining eight intermediate-hazard
dams, which will likely indicate that some, if not all, of these
dams are also high-hazard-potential structures.
The County will study each of these NRCS dams to determine the downstream
risk potential. Should a dam be identified as posing a safety
hazard, alternatives for mitigating the hazardous situation will
be studied. If the studies indicate that a dam does not pose a threat
to downstream structures, the County will study the option to buy
land downstream of the dam in order to prevent future development.
The County's Development Regulations place strict requirements on
small hazardous dams that are not regulated by the State. If
structures exist in the breach zone of any dam exceeding 9 feet
in height or 20 acre-feet in volume, the dam must meet state requirements
for high-hazard dams. Should no development exist within the
breach zone, the dam must meet the state requirements for high-hazard
dams or the owner must provide restrictive easements to prevent
future development.
Northeast Regional Award of Merit: Eric Ditchey
Eric Ditchey, Senior Associate with McCormick, Taylor and Associates,
Mount Laurel, New Jersey, received ASDSO,s Northeast Regional Award
of Merit.
As Chairman of the Council for Safe Dams, Mr. Ditchey has worked
extremely hard toward the advancement of legislation which would
provide funding for dam restoration projects in New Jersey. In
meetings with Senators Littell and Bucco, Eric requested additional
funding sources for dam restoration. Senators Littell and
Bucco later sponsored legislation which would allow a bond issue
to be placed on the ballot and would provide for $110,000,000 for
dam restoration projects throughout the state. Mr. Ditchey
continued to work with the Legislative Services Office to keep the
proposed bill on track and to push for its passage. On June
30, 2003, the New Jersey State Senate and Assembly both passed bill
S2182, which allows the bond issue to appear on the November 2003
ballot.
Mr. Ditchey also works hard to keep the Council for Safe Dams moving
forward to accomplish its goals of public outreach. Through
his leadership, the Council has coordinated the planning of the
past three Northeast Regional Conferences. Additionally, he
has spoken on behalf of the Council at the New Jersey League of
Municipalities to emphasize the importance of dam safety and the
need of dam safety funding to State, County and Municipal officials.
Mr. Ditchey has presented courses on Dam Safety Engineering at Villanova
University and has presented a dam safety workshop at Rutgers University
to New Jersey state offices involved in dam safety. He has
often volunteered to make presentations at regional dam owner workshops.
Mr. Ditchey is a member of numerous ASDSO committees, including
the Dam Financing Solutions Committee, the Affiliate Member Advisory
Committee, and the Organizational Review Committee. He is
also a member of the American Concrete Institute and is involved
in Committee 207 - Mass Concrete.
National Rehabilitation Project of the Year: Boyle
Engineering Corporation, Lakewood, Colorado, for the Monument Lake
Dam Rehabilitation Project
Boyle Engineering Corporation, of Lakewood, Colorado, dealt with
many technical challenges and unusual environmental issues in its
rehabilitation of 110-year-old Monument Lake Dam
The Class II, 40-foot high, 840-foot long, zoned embankment dam
is jointly owned and operated by El Paso County and the Town of
Monument. The reservoir provides a scenic backdrop for the
town of Monument, and has been providing irrigation water and flood
control along Fountain Creek for more than 100 years.
In 1998, the Colorado State Engineer's Office recommended a zero-storage
restriction due to the dam's poor condition. The deficiencies
included:
trees up to four feet in diameter along the toe, downstream slope,
crest, and upstream slope of the dam,
surface erosion channels up to three feet deep on the crest, downstream
slope, and right abutment,
a failed valve on twin 16-inch-diameter cast-iron outlet pipes,
inadequate spillway capacity, and
erosion and collapsed gabion walls along the downstream spillway
channel.
By using a two-dimensional incremental damage analysis, compared
to a one-dimensional model, Boyle Engineering justified a 100-year
spillway capacity instead of the 50 percent probable maximum precipitation
spillway capacity normally required by the State. The downstream
floodplain is wide and diverging, which would cause a flood to spread
out in several directions. Boyle discovered that the one-dimensional
models would over-estimate downstream impacts, which would require
a larger, more costly spillway. The project sponsors realized
an approximate savings of $2 million in spillway construction costs
through the use of the two-dimensional incremental damage analysis.
The technical aspects of the project were complicated by the presence
of Preble's Meadow Jumping Mouse (PMJM). Obtaining a Corps
of Engineers permit required consulting with the U.S. Fish &
Wildlife Service regarding the protected species. Boyle Engineering
designed a 60-foot wide "mouse highway," to connect downstream
and upstream PMJM habitats. The corridor is complete with
shrubs, grasses, and an irrigation system.
Reservoir sediment potentially contaminated by whirling disease
spores caused further complications. In order to avoid spreading
the whirling disease, the dredged sediment was wasted on site, as
per State requirements.
The construction cost for rehabilitating the dam and dredging the
reservoir was $3.2 million.
New Honorary Member: Jack Healy, Hanson Engineers
In recognition of his many contributions to the cause of dam safety
in the U.S., John M. Healy, P.E., Special Consultant to Hanson Professional
Services, Inc., Springfield, was named an Honorary Member of ASDSO.
Mr. Healy's experience in engineering began in 1954 when, as a commissioned
officer in the U.S. Air Force, he worked on the development of the
experimental SAGE system at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
From 1960 to 1962, Mr. Healy was a research assistant in the department
of civil engineering at the University of Illinois where he received
his bachelor's and master's degrees.
Mr. Healy joined Hanson in 1962. During his employment with
the firm, he worked in all 50 states and six international locations
on a variety of projects ranging from dams, storage structures,
highway and railroad soil surveys, communication structures, buildings,
industrial projects and buried blast-resistant structures. As
a senior vice president and director of the firm, he had operational
management responsibilities for the geotechnical and hydrology/hydraulics
engineering consulting practice and for the quality control/materials
testing service. In 1995, he retired from Hanson and now serves
as a special consultant to the firm.
Mr. Healy was a member of the ASDSO Peer Review team that evaluated
the Army Corps of Engineers, Dam Safety Program nationwide. He
also served on Peer Review teams for reviews of the U.S. Mine Safety
and Health Administration,s dam safety program, and state dam safety
programs in Maryland, Virginia (twice), Georgia, Ohio, Kansas, Oregon,
Hawaii, Alaska and Texas.
Mr. Healy has also been an active member of many other organizations,
including the American Society of Civil Engineers, the International
Society of Soils Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, the National
Society of Professional Engineers, the U.S. Society on Dams, the
Springfield Chamber of Commerce Infrastructure Committee, the Illinois
Mining Institute, the Association of Conservation Engineers, the
Illinois Geologic Mapping Advisory Committee, and the Consulting
Engineers Council of Illinois.
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The Association of State Dam Safety Officials (ASDSO) is a national,
non-profit organization dedicated to improving dam safety through
research, education and communication. Since its formation
in 1984, ASDSO has served as one of the premier professional organizations
for individuals committed to ensuring the safety of dams in the
U.S. For more information, please visit www.damsafety.org.
