Development of Guidelines for Standard

Approaches to Inundation Mapping of

Flood Risk Associated with Dam
Incidents and Failures

USSD Workshop on Dam Break Analysis

Applied to Tailings Dams
August 25, 2011

Ed Beadenkopf, PE, CFM

 Agenda for the Presentation

Overview of the FEMA funded project

Schedule for release

Details of a simplified dam breach
modeling tool

Relevance to Tailings Dams

Ed Beadenkopf- URS Corporation

and RAMPP Team Member

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 Guidelines for Standard Approaches to
Dam Breach Inundation Mapping
Development of Guidelines for Standard Approaches to
Inundation Mapping of Flood Risk Associated with
Dam Incidents and Failures

BACKGROUND

Many states have limited and inconsistent guidelines for developing inundation
maps reflecting dam failure incidents

Dam breach inundation mapping may not contain the information Hazard
Mitigation Planners and Emergency Managers need for other uses of the
inundation mapping

FEMA is a leadership role with the National Dam Safety Program and the
National Dam Safety Review Board recommended that new consistent
guidance is needed to assist State Dam Safety Programs

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 Guidelines for Standard Approaches to
Dam Breach Inundation Mapping
To develop a draft FEMA publication
that will provide standardized guidance
for consistent development of
inundation studies, mapping and usage
of maps in hazard mitigation planning,
emergency management planning, and
consequence and loss estimation.
Objectives

Provide standardized modeling and mapping
guidance to support autonomous State Dam
Safety Programs

Support the NDSRB goal of 100% EAP
coverage by 2012

Support FEMA RiskMAP non regulatory
products

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 Guidelines for Standard Approaches to
Dam Breach Inundation Mapping
Status

Collection of data from State Dam Safety Programs
Completed Mar 2010
and Federal Agencies

Submission of Data Report with recommendations June 2010

Review comments from the NDSRB Workgroup Aug-Sept 2010

Incorporation of review comments and 75% Draft

Jan 2011
Guidance Document

Incorporation of a GIS-based simplified dam breach Jan 2012
tool (Phase 1 enhancements)

Mar 31, 2012

Sept 30 2009 Mar 2009 June 2010 Jan 2011

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 Guidelines for Standard Approaches to
Dam Breach Inundation Mapping
Phase 1 enhancements

Based on input for States and NDSRB comments

Incorporate H&H modeling database structure and
mapping standards into the guidelines March 2011
 Based on early demonstration project map products
developed with the State of Georgia and used in the Dam
Breach Consequences Task Order

Develop a GIS-based dam breach mapping software Dec ember 2011
based on a NWS program

Phase 2 planned enhancements

Automated EAP Report and maps Not yet funded

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Simplified Dam Break GIS Toolset

Develop a GIS-based modeling tool based on the widely
accepted NWS program
 To model and map dam breach inundation zones
 At 1/3 the effort of conventional unsteady HEC-RAS models
 Leading to an increase in the number of EAP’s for significant and
high hazard dams

Offer as a PC-based tool and in association with the Dam
Breach Inundation Guidelines currently under development
 Encourage State Dam Safety Programs to require Dam Owners to
prepare EAP’s

Incorporate a modeling database and mapping standards
into the Dam Breach Guidelines that result in digital
products useful to RiskMAP

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Simplified Dam Break GIS Toolset
Step 1 – identify dam and river

User Input
DEM
Lake Polygon
Streamline

Tool Defined:
Lake volume
River stationing

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Simplified Dam Break GIS Toolset
Step 2 – enter breach information

User Input
Dam type
Breach elevations
Breach width/time
(optional)

Tool Determines:
Breach parameters

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Simplified Dam Break GIS Toolset
Step 3 –create cross sections

User Input
Cross section
lines
Manning’s
values

Tool
Determines:
Elevation/
Width pairs
Reach
lengths

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Simplified Dam Break GIS Toolset
Step 4 – select outputs and run SMPDBK

SMPDBK geometry is
auto-generated and
SMPDBK run on the
fly in background

Outputs
automatically created
within GIS

User can import dam
breach inundation
datasets from other
sources

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Simplified Dam Break GIS Toolset
Outputs – inundation delineation

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Simplified Dam Break GIS Toolset
Output- standardized EAP map paneling scheme

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Simplified Dam Break GIS Toolset
Output- standardized EAP maps

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Relevance to Dam Break Analyses for
Tailings Dams

The Guidance Document will provide a compilation of dam breach
methods and technical resources that can be used to develop dam
breach models

The GIS-based SMDBK program is suited to Tailings Dams where
the breach is a sunny day failure

The simplified GIS breach tool can be a defendable first pass to
evaluate the impacts of multiple breach locations and inundation
zone flow paths

Depending on the consequences of failure a more detailed breach
study may be warranted and limited to select breech locations

Phase 2 tools would allow Owners/Engineers/Emergency
Managers to conduct consequence evaluations

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 QUESTIONS or COMMENTS

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