Keynote Lecture
| Keynote Lecture 3 | Dam Safety Risk Analysis and Risk Management Practice at the Bureau of Reclamation: Lessons Learned from over Two Decades of Experience |
| Date / Time | 13 December 2019, Friday / 09:40 - 10:10 hrs |
| Venue | Room IB-101 |
| Speaker | Karen Knight U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, USA |
Biography
Karen Knight, P.E., is the Director of Security, Safety and Law Enforcement for the Bureau of Reclamation. The Security, Safety and Law Enforcement Office is located in Denver, Colorado, and is responsible for protecting the public, Reclamation employees, and Reclamation facilities through the development and implementation of an integrated security, safety, and law enforcement programs. Ms. Knight oversees the dam safety, physical security, personnel security, information security, emergency management, continuity of operations, disaster response, aviation, and safety and occupational health programs, and over 50 staff in the implementation of these programs. Most recently, Ms. Knight was the Chief of the Dam Safety Office where she assumed that role in 2015. She oversaw five major safety of dams modification projects which have been completed or advanced to construction. She joined Reclamation’s Technical Service Center in 1999 where she was team leader and lead designer for embankment and foundation safety modifications at Pineview Dam, Utah. She performed comprehensive facility reviews for 12 high hazard dams; and lead teams on issue evaluation studies, including comprehensive risk analysis, for a number of other Reclamation dams. She has facilitated comprehensive risk analyses for a number of Reclamation structures assessing static, seismic and hydrologic risk. In 2004, Karen became Manager, Geotechnical Engineering, managing a group of engineers performing evaluation, analysis, design and construction support for Reclamation’s embankment dams. She performed technical and managerial oversight, including Project Management Team duties, and peer review of up to two dozen projects at a time. She became the Chief, Geotechnical Services Division in 2007 where she provided leadership over six interrelated groups of embankment dam and geotechnical engineers, engineering geologists, seismologists, geophysicists, and dam instrumentation and inspection specialists. The Geotechnical Services Division included more than 100 staff and provided technical expertise throughout Reclamation for inspection, evaluation, analysis, risk analysis, and design and construction oversight for high hazard dams in Reclamation’s inventory and numerous other significant and high hazard structures in the Department of Interior’s portfolio. Knight has a Bachelor of Science in Geological Engineering from the University of Missouri-Rolla and a Master of Science in Civil Engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. She is a registered professional engineer, a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, the U.S. Society on Dams where she has served on the Board of Directors, and the Association of State Dam Safety Officials.
Abstract
The desire to more appropriately prioritize resources within U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) and to better understand the risk posed by its dams to the public required Reclamation to move beyond a deterministic assessment of its dams. Risk assessment and risk management were viewed as a logical method to prioritize these resources for the most benefit to the public. Through research and development, Reclamation pioneered the application of risk assessment to its portfolio of 367 high hazard dams. Since the late 1990s, Reclamation has performed over 1300 quantitative and semi-quantitative risk analyses on its portfolio of dams. This paper discusses the evolution of risk analysis within Reclamation’s dam safety program to its current state of practice, and some key ongoing initiatives. The focus is on the role of risk-informed decision making within the overall context of a dam safety risk management program.
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