1999 – Alamo Dam Demonstration Risk Assessment

David S. Bowles, Loren R. Anderson, Joseph B. Evelyn, Terry F. Glover and David M. Van Dorpe

A demonstration risk assessment was conducted on the 283-foot high rolled-earthfill Alamo Dam as part of a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Research and Development program. The existing dam and 19 structural risk reduction alternatives were evaluated for flood, earthquake and normal operating conditions. The paper summarizes the risk assessment process, results, findings and recommendations. It also provides an evaluation of the risk assessment process and recommendations for better positioning the USACE to use risk assessment for dam safety evaluation and decision support.