HISTORICAL

MILESTONES OF USSD
Keith A. Ferguson, P.E., DWRE
April, 2019

© 2016 HDR, Inc., all rights reserved.

The founding of ICOLD/USCOLD

Dam Safety

The founding of ASDSO

Advocacy – the road ahead

THE FOUNDING OF
ICOLD/USCOLD
THE SETTING – A
TIPPING POINT IN
WORLD HISTORY
 The 1918 Influenza Pandemic (3 to 5% of world
population died (55 to 95 million based WP = 1.9
billion)
 World War I (41 million civilian and military
casualties; 21m deaths, 20m wounded)

 “The profound indictment of the darkness that

emerged out of a spirit of fierce nationalism and
national sovereignty that was not balanced with
the moral and ethical demand and needs of an
emerging interdependent world”
 “calls for a new international order in which global
organizations would steer and regulate potentially
sensitive areas of international life and trade.”
THE WORLD POWER
CONFERENCE OF 1924
 WPC held as part of British Empire
Exhibitions in Wembley, London was
example of the emerging new
internationalist laboratory
 Permanent committee (called the World
Power Conference) established in 1925

Daniel Nicol Dunlop was the inspiration behind the

WPC.
THE BIRTH OF ICOLD AND
USCOLD
 Shortly after first WPC French Engineers had
idea to create international forum devoted
entirely to dams (French Association for the
Advancement of Science 49th session in 1925)
 1926 – French delegation to WPC sectional
meeting tabled proposal for setting up ICOLD
including draft constitution
 WPC voted in favor of the proposal and
accepted the French Government’s offer to
take “necessary action”.
 French Committee on Large Dams created
near the close of 1926
 WPC continued endorsements at Executive
Council meeting (1927).
THE BIRTH OF ICOLD AND
USCOLD

 Draft Constitution created on December 22,

1927.
 Constitutive meeting held in Paris on July 6,
1928.
 Six nations represented including:
o USA
o France
o Italy
o Romania
o UK
o Switzerland
THE BIRTH OF ICOLD AND
USCOLD
 Draft Constitution updated/modified, and then
ratified by this group of countries
 Presented and approved the International
Congress of Electricity Producers and
Distributors on July 10, 1928.and the London
meeting of the Executive Council of the WPC
on October 3, 1928.
 ICOLD was now organized and operating as a
self-governing affiliate of the WPC
 Birth of USCOLD (now USSD) set as the day
representatives of the U.S. finalized and
ratified the ICOLD Constitution – July 10,
1928.
THE BIRTH OF ICOLD AND
USCOLD
 1st Executive ICOLD meeting – Monday, June
1, 1931 (London)
 G Mercier named 1st President
 Attended by 13 countries that had organized
and received formal membership in ICOLD
 US and Italy still observers – reasons unknown
 US had completed arrangements and granted
official membership in 1932 just in time to
participate in the second Executive meeting in
Paris (July, 1932) and the first Congress in
Stockholm (June 1933)
SUMMARY OF USCOLD/USSD LEADERS OF ICOLD

No. Name Role Dates

1 E. Mead Vice President 1933 - 1936
2 J. Savage Vice President 1937 - 1947
3 M.D. Justin Vice President 1947 - 1950
4 J. Hinds Vice President 1950
5 G.A. Hathaway President 1952 - 1958
6 F.S. Friel Vice President 1958 - 1961
7 G.T. McCarthy Vice President 1964 - 1967
G.T. McCarthy President 1967 – 1970
8 W. Johnson Vice President 1970 - 1973
9 W. V. Binger Vice President 1978 - 1981
10 J. Veltrop Vice President 1987 - 1988
J. Veltrop President 1988 - 1991
11 R. W. Kramer Vice President 1994 - 1997
12 A. Walz Vice President 2005 - 2008
13 M. Rogers Vice President 2015 - 2017
14 M. Rogers President 2018 -
SUMMARY OF USCOLD/USSD HOSTED MEETINGS

No. Description Date Location

1 7th Meeting - 2nd Congress September 7, 1936 Washington, DC
2 8th Meeting - Executive September 11, 1936 Washington, DC
3 19th Meeting – Executive September 5, 1952 Chicago, IL
4 25th Meeting – 6th Congress September 16, 1958 New York, NY
5 56th Meeting – 16th Congress June 10-11, 1988 San Francisco, CA
6 81th Annual Meeting August 12-16, 2013 Seattle, WA
ICOLD AND USSD TODAY
 ICOLD
o >100 member countries around the world
o Member countries represent >10,000 members
who are practicing engineers, geologists, and
scientists
 USSD
o >1200 members
o Governance structure includes all members of the
US Community of practice
• Federal and State Agencies
• Dam Owners/Operators
• Consultants
• Contractors
• Material Suppliers
• Others
DAM SAFETY
DAMS – A CRITICAL COMPONENT
OF OUR NATIONAL
INFRASTRUCTURE

 1st known dam – Jawa, Jordan, 3000 BCE

 Today 90,580 dams in US
 Majority (2/3’s) built between 1930 and 1980
 Total number of dams in the world – no
reliable figures

Cornalvo Dam, Roman Gravity Dam, 1st

or 2nd centrury AD near Meriden, Spain
LIFE SAFETY COMES TO
THE FOREFRONT
 Earliest failure with fatalities in 1850 –
Ashburnham Reservoir Dam, Massachusetts
 3,495 fatalities have occurred as a result of
64 dam failures
 90% of all fatalities occurred prior to 1960
 76% of fatalities associated with two failures:
o Johnstown South Fork Dam (PA), May 31, 1889
– 2,209
o St. Francis Dam (CA), March 12, 1928 – 450
 Four events have resulted in >100 fatalities
o Most recent was 7 fatalities due to Kaloko
Reservoir failure, March 2006, Kauai, HI
USCOLD’S DAM SAFETY
EMPHASIS GROWS
 Tragic events involving major dam failures in
France, Spain and Italy (Malpasset)
 1964 ICOLD proposal to complete a “Study of
Known Failure and Incidents Arising from Rock
Foundations for Large Dams.” USCOLD a major
participant.
 1st publication covering failures and incidents
prior to 12/31/1965 (published 1973)
 USCOLD initiates investigation of the practices
and regulations of State agencies in US.
Published in 1966.
 December 27, 1965, Federal Power Commission
(FPC, now FERC) Order No. 315 adds Part 12
Inspection requirements to Federal Power Act
USCOLD’S DAM SAFETY
EMPHASIS GROWS

 In response to the needs of a number of state’s

following completion of the survey, USCOLD, as
a public service drafted a “Model Law for State
Supervision of Safety of Dams and Reservoirs”
THE 1970’S – DAM SAFETY
BECOMES LAW
 Key Dam Incidents and Failures during 1970’s
o Lower Van Norman Dam incident, CA, Feb 9, 1971 (no fatalities)
o Buffalo Creek Refuse Impoundment failure, WV, Feb 22, 1972
(125 fatalities)
o Canyon Lake Dam failure, SD, June 1972 (238 fatalities, $1B in
damages)
o Hurricane Agnes dam incidents and failures, 1972 (128 fatalities)
o Walter Bouldin Dam (FERC project No. 2146) failure, AL,
February, 1975 (no fatalities)
o Bear Wallow Lake Dam failure, NC, February, 1976 (4 fatalities)
o Teton Dam failure, ID, June 5, 1976 ($1B in losses, 11 fatalities)
o Laurel Run Dam failure, PA, July, 1977 (41 fatalities)
o Kelly Barnes Lake Dam failure, GA, Nov 6, 1977 (39 fatalities)
THE 1970’S – DAM SAFETY
BECOMES LAW
 Inspection of 8,800 dams under
National Dam Safety Inspection Action
between December 1977 and October,
1981.
 USCOLD updates Lessons from
Dam Incidents, USA, 1979, to
include all incidents and failures
through 1979 (see Table ).
SUMMARY

 USSD’s legacy includes two major

influences in dam safety
o Emphasis on the evaluation and study of
failures and incidents
o Development of the comprehensive
system of state dam safety programs
including support for the founding of
ASDSO.
THE FOUNDING OF
ASDSO
THE FOUNDING OF
ASDSO
 Improvements in Federal dam safety in the 70’s and
early 80’ brought deficiencies in non-federal dam
safety programs into focus
 USCOLD’s study of dam failures, Survey/Model Law,
NID and Phase 1 Inspection program lead to the
finding that 1/3 on non-federal dams were unsafe
 FEMA/NRC identified/confirmed need for better state
dam safety programs (1982, 1983)
 Third in a series of state dam safety program
assessments identified need for interstate forum on
dam safety programs (1982)
 USCOLD Resolution urging state governments to
enact dam safety legislation
THE FOUNDING OF
ASDSO
 Council of State Governments (CSG) and
FEMA organize meeting on February 28,
1983, Orlando Florida.
 CSG/FEMA confirm support and Organizing
Committee for ASDSO put in motion
 ASDSO formed on June 20, 1984
ADVOCACY – THE
ROAD AHEAD
USSD ADVOCACY
INITIATIVE
 The 2014 Strategic Plan set a bold new
initiative of Advocacy in Motion.
 Advocacy Goals include:
o Goal 1:Develop industry-wide strategic
messaging and be the industry voice.
o Goal 2: Provide technical information and facts
to legislators and policy makers to prepare
them for making water resources and dam
safety decisions.
o Goal 3:Assist members to understand the
implications associated with legislative
initiatives.
USSD ADVOCACY
INITIATIVE
Position Statement Initiative
1. Securing Future Water Supplies – Planning and
Permitting of Water Storage Reservoirs
2. Evaluation of Dam and Levee Incidents and Failures
3. Using Risk to Inform the Public on Safety of Dams,
Levees, and Reservoirs
4. Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM)
Education – Creating Engineers to Meet Tomorrows
Infrastructure Challenges
5. Responsibility for Dam and Levee Safety in the U.S.
6. Principals of Sustainability for Dams and Reservoirs
7. Dam Removal
SUMMARY
 ICOLD/USCOLD founded on July 10, 1928
 USCOLD/USSD and our members have played a
key role in the development of dam safety practice
as we know it today including study of
failures/incidents and state dam safety programs.
 USCOLD/USSD played an important role in the
founding of ASDSO and remains a strong advocate
for its programs and success as a critical member of
the dam safety community of practice
 USSD is committed to a future of Advocacy of the
importance of dams and levees and their
responsible development, operation and
maintenance